The Lovers's Sin
by MercenaryCrime
Summary: Elena has always been faithful to the Order since she became an official exorcist but her heart belongs to another and that other is suppose to be her enemy, then those around her begin to suspect something but that was only the beginning of her nightmare... Fem. Allen x Tyki... Rated M just to be safe
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

~Elena~

She stared across at the man before her, his eyes was staring at her from over the lens of his glasses with a sense of seriousness. This told her that she had come here to receive a mission from the head supervisor.

'Listen carefully Elena, there have been strange activities occurring in North China,' the head supervisor said as Elena flipped through the briefing that was handed to her. The details were vague but were specific to the point that there was actually something to investigate.

'What type of strange activities are we talking about, Komui?' she questioned further as the man coughed and curled his fingers around the coffee mug beside him on the desk. He picked it up and took a swing from the steaming contains before responding.

'For all we know, a village's water supply has slowly depleted and no one is certain of what is causing this. Also akuma have been frequently sighted in the surrounding area,' Komui's words made Elena shiver as she stood up and nodded the boat of her coat brushed around her knees as she strolled to the door.

'Oh, good luck Elena and come back safely,' Elena glanced over her shoulder as she watch the man raise his mug in a cheerful farewell his eyes soften to the fact that she would be gone for a week at least.

'I'm off Komui,' she called back as she slipped out of the room and wondered down the isle of desks piled high with paper. Barely visible from where she was standing, she knew that the scientists were brooding over the multiply things they had to analyze and understand.

She exited the science department, a warm pair of arms wrapped around her as she noticed the long hair of her dear friend, Lenalee.

'Are you going already, Elena?' her friend asked as she followed Elena to the docks held below the headquarters. Elena sighed and flicked her annoying long white hair over her shoulder.

'Yes, I'm sorry it came up shortly after you returned from your mission… with Kanda,' Elena said slyly as Lenalee blushed before glaring at her.

'T-that's none of your business, Elena, but it doesn't matter, we'll talk once you come back,' Lenalee stammered as she said her farewell to her friend and Elena descended the stairs towards the docks where a boat was moored. A finder was waiting for her as she stepped into the boat and the boat was pushed away from the dock.

….

~Tyki~

He glanced up from the book lying lazily in his lap as a small figure with spiky purple hair waltzed into the room swing around a distressed umbrella. He was sitting in the study in front of a roaring fire bored out of his mind.

'Let me go, ~lero,' the umbrella whined as the girl crackled menacingly enough to make him shiver as she began to spin around as I ferocious spin. He quickly averted his eyes to avoid get dizzy himself feeling himself pity the poor umbrella.

'Road, is Lord Millennium aware that you have Lero?' he couldn't help but ask as he closed the book and leaned his head on his white gloved hand. The girl stopped spinning and glared at him.

'So what Tyki, its not like I'll get in trouble for it,' she said bitterly as she poked her tongue at him. The umbrella, Lero, began to squirm frantically in her grasp before finally freeing itself and diving behind Tyki's chair.

'Protect me, Tyki-dono, ~lero,' Lero pleaded with him but Tyki rolled his eyes and casually strolled away. He wasn't in the mood to get caught in one of his niece's games. But before he could leave the room a bloated figure entered the study and greeted them.

'Ah, Road, Tyki-pon, so this is where you've been hiding,' the large man said as the two blinked at him. The umbrella literally flew from its position behind the chair and over to the man, tears streaming from the black eyes on its pumpkin head.

'Earl-dono!' it cried out if relief as the Earl briefly looked at in mild surprised and eyed Road suspiciously.

'Stop taking Lero without my permission,' the Earl said sternly to the girl as she pouted her lip but didn't protest to his words. He quickly glanced at the retreating Tyki before he had a chance of getting out of the room.

'Where are you going Tyki-pon? I have a job for you,' the Earl said in a leveled voice as Tyki sighed with annoyance at the nickname the Millennium Earl had given him ever since he had awakened as a Noah.

'I do wish that you'll stop calling me that,' Tyki complained in a low voice but came back into the room despite this because of the 'job' the Earl was referring to. He was certainly relieved to find out that he wouldn't be hanging around here any longer.

'Don't be rude, Tyki-pon, Road don't you have lunch with Sheril soon?' The Earl called down to the girl who was trying to retrieve Lero again. Road blinked up at the Earl and grumbled before leaving the room. Finally when they were alone, the Earl pulled a card from his coat pocket.

Tyki's gold eyes eyed the card eagerly as he wondered what it contained before the Earl handed it to him.

'Here is the location of where I want you to check out, it seems to be drawing the interest of the Order as of late,' the Earl slowly explained before taking a sit before the roaring fire. Tyki glanced at the card as the image of a mossy ruin flickered at him; it seemed ancient and mystifying at the same time.

'As you wish Lord Millennium,' Tyki said with a respectful bow and excused himself from the man's presence as smile graced his lips as his heart skipped a beat. There was a slight chance she'll be there.

….

~Elena~

She glanced around the seemingly large yet bleak village. The water cannels were empty of even a drop of water as the plants hanging from flower boxes began to whither and die. Komui hadn't been kidding when he said that the village was water deprived and suffering because of it.

The finder beside her was silent and seemed to be equal to that of her shadow flickering on the walls and ground as they continued to walk on to the only inn available in the village.

'I'll get our reservations,' the finder said quickly as they entered the foyer and left Elena to stare at the poor withering plants again with a pitiful sigh. This seemed to be a draining mission to be sent on as the finder returned with two keys in hand. He handed one over to Elena and led her towards where the rooms were.

Her room wasn't too big but comfortable with a bed in the corner and a table with a few chairs. The oriental design of the room gave it an exotic appeal as Elena softly smiled at the decor.

After they had placed their belongings into their rooms, they returned to the street and glanced around as she noticed a large group of villagers gathered around a large vat.

'What's going on?' Elena couldn't help but ask as the finder stared at her with sad eyes.

'After the water was finally exhausted, the villagers have resorted to retrieving water from the neighboring village,' the finder explained to her as her silver eyes glimmered gravely. Elena knew that the situation was bad, but didn't know that the villagers had to resort to the charity of others.

'Where does their water supply mainly come from?' Elena asked as the finder smiled at her.

'I knew you'd ask that sooner or later, follow me,' with that the finder led Elena away from the gathering of people and out through one of the village's many gates. The path winded its way up a steep slope as Elena took note of the well-worn stone steps carved into the side of the hill. The way the mossy and plants decorated the forests, it was clear that it had been apart of the scenery for more than a thousand years.

Elena paused suddenly as she glanced at part of a rocky cliff face before walking over to it and examined the surface. It was damp and glistened with water as Elena quickly called the finder over.

'We've noticed that to but for some strange reason the source of its water is unknown,' the finder had to vaguely nod at it before they continued their ascent before Elena gasped at the sight as they step through some ancient looking stone walls.

The place seemed to be a ruin of a temple from long ago as Elena took the sight in through her silver eyes. The place was surprisingly lush and fertile with mossy smothering most of the stony ruins. The pale yellow stone softly shone in the sunlight that filtered through a leafy canopy of several large trees with their branches entwining.

'Is this the source of their water?' Elena said in a low voice, she seemed conscious that any loud sound would disturb the tranquility the place gave off. The finder nodded his head before fiddling with a talisman he had brought along with him. He turned the dial to a certain symbol and a bright beam of light shone through and pierced the darkness of a corridor.

To Elena, it looked as if the dark was retreating from the light as they stepped into the corridor.

'It is said this was a temple built to honor a water dragon that is suppose to dwell in this very mountain,' the finder explained flickering the torch around them as Elena admired the faded paintings on the corridor walls. They seemed to tell a story long forgotten but the moss made it difficult to tell what exactly was going on.

'How far does this go?' Elena asked the finder as she found herself walking through a puddle of water. She paused and glanced at her feet, she noticed that water seemed to be rising around them the further they go. The finder didn't seem surprised by this and continued on.

'It is suppose to go to where the dragon is said to slumber,' the finder said in a low voice as Elena shivered as she felt the water rise up to her ankles.

'I thought that this place was deprived of water,' Elena voiced her doubt to the finder ahead of her but she shielded her eyes as the finder stupidly pointed the bright talisman at her.

'Only the village's water supply was cut off, but they dare not take this water because they say it is sacred,' Elena sighed with relief as the finder turned the light away from her and continued walking. This time she felt the water rise further as she began wading with it coming half way up her thigh. She couldn't help but groan aloud with displeasure, getting wet wasn't the bad part it was the temperature. It seemed to be below zero somehow.

….

~Tyki~

Tyki stood in what looked to be the courtyard of a ruin; the mossy was a vibrant emerald green with the pale stone seemed to shimmer like gold nuggets. Behind him, two level fours and a level three hovered nearby awaiting orders patiently as the Noah ran his finger over the rough sandy rough.

'It a shame such a beautiful place is about to be washed with blood,' Tyki sighed as he entered the dark tunnel that yawned before him.

'Get some lights going,' Tyki ordered the level three, which quickly obeyed and a strange orb of purple lit filtered through the darkness but not to brightly as to draw attention to their presence if anyone was around. His shoes sank slightly in the soft soil under his foot as he made his way slowly down the passage, eyeing the craftsmanship of the paintings that decorated the walls.

They were faded with age but still pleasant to the eye as the two level fours jittered anxiously behind him. Tyki paused and through a threatening glare over his shoulder to silence the level fours and kept going. Soon enough, he began hearing the swooshing of water around the bottom of his shoes as he glanced down mildly humored by the change of conditions.

The temperature in the air had dropped considerably but what caught his attention were footprints making deep impressions in the watery soil.

'Bring the light here,' Tyki said with a flick of his wrist as the level three came closer and offered better lighting to get a clearing view of the footprints. There were two pairs of them; they seemed to be walking side-by-side, one large and the other slightly smaller. Tyki crouched down to get a better look, the larger of the pair made deep heavy impressions making it easier to make out in the dim light but the smaller ones were slender and made the Noah presume that the other had a lighter step compared to their companion.

'Seems like we got company,' Tyki murmured as a bubbling desire to seek out these unfortunate souls who had come to the same place as he did. The water began to deepen but he wasn't hindered by it as he skimmed over the water as if he was a skater over ice. Luckily for him, the passage way had a ceiling that despaired into darkness above their heads as a flickering of light caught his attention.

Tyki slowed down his pace and stopped all together, he was almost up to the owners of those footprints as the light darted around several metres ahead of him.

Stay here, I'll check this out, Tyki murmured telepathically to the akuma behind him as he skated cautiously towards the light and paused as he reached the corner. He glanced around and caught sight of a tall figure covered almost completely by a hooded tan-coloured coat. The Noah instantly recognized the finder as he turned around, Tyki ducked behind the pillar again but not because he was afraid of being caught. The stupid idiot was flashing the torch they had around without thinking of the consequences.

Tyki felt very annoyed by the finder and merged into the wall and skirted around till he was right behind the unsuspecting finder. Before the finder turned around, Tyki clasped his hand over the man's mouth and smirked sadistically as the man froze in his grip.

'Good night,' the Noah whispered into the finder's ear as he quick jerked the head in his hands inevitably snapping the finder's neck. Tyki gently lowered the body into the water as the level three caught the falling talisman. The level fours were right behind it.

'There is a good chance that an exorcist is ahead, go deal with them,' Tyki ordered the level fours as the whizzed passed him, the wings on their backs a blur with excitement. The level three patiently waited for its orders as Tyki glanced at the body bobbing in the water.

'Sink it, it's wrecking the beauty of the place,' Tyki growled as he turned on his heel and slowly walked down the corridor the akuma had disappeared down moments ago.

….

~Elena~

She had left the finder behind when she began to notice how nervous the man was getting. Her left hand traced along the wall to guide her through the darkness as she began to feel herself sink again into water but this time it came around to her waist.

'Why me?' Elena couldn't help but bicker in a low voice as she continued to slowly make her way along the corridor. Without the finder around, there was no light around but it didn't bother her that much because it was more likely that she'd go blind if the finder continued to hang around her.

To her surprise, the wall ended suddenly leading her to stumble and full head first into the bone-chilling water. Elena gasped in shock as she stumbled in the darkness trying to find anything, just anything to let her have an idea of where she was. She had the worst sense of direction of anyone she knew and with it being dark and all made it even worse.

Suddenly her hip painfully smashed against something solid, Elena stretched her hand forward and felt the reassuring feel of solid, dry ground before hulling her wet self out of the water. She stood up and shivered as the water ran off her uniform and dripped onto the stone underfoot. Elena had been glad to finally be out of the water but it depressed her that she would have to worry about freezing to death.

Again, Elena found herself stumbling around in the dark, as she was careful not to fall into the water again. Sliding around of he feet made her feel very silly indeed but who was there to see. Well that was until her left eye activated, the darkness around her didn't seem to phase her eyes as it clearly made out the entire cavern in not in enough detail as with a bright light.

Her eye settled on the approaching souls of two level fours as she felt her stomach somersault. She gazed around, using her cursed eye instead of her normal sight and quickly came upon a path winding its way down a corridor in the other direction of the advancing akuma.

Elena hurried down ignoring the loud wet slapping sounds of her boots against the stone path as she desperately tried to get away from the level fours. She was able to deal with one level four with some difficulty but two was out of the question as she caught the outline of a door coming up ahead of her.

She was tempted to look around to see how far behind the akuma were but she dreaded seeing the degrading human soul of those tragic creatures. The sight of a level four's soul was enough to make her sick and Elena didn't want to experience that anytime soon.

Elena reached the door and began to fumble with the door handle, her gloves were wet and their grip was poor. It forced her to discard them and grip the handle with her bare hands and wrench open the door and quickly close behind her.

Through her cursed eye, the room held no body of water much to her relief as her stare fell upon a stared object into the middle. From the little detail she was given through her eye, it seemed to be some sort of grate like bowl filled with large clumps of dry roughness. Elena stepped closer to get a better look and her foot rolled on a hard object.

With a yelp of surprise, Elena fell over and glared at the object that had dared trip her. It was small and fitted easily into the palm of her hand. Beside it was another similar shaped object, as she weighed the two pieces in her hands.

Elena quickly stood up and hit the two rocks together subconsciously and watched several sparks fly and disappear as soon as it hit the ground. An idea quickly took shape in her head as she walked over to the grate bowl and scraped the objects against each other creating a flurry of sparks.

Soon enough one of the sparks burst to life engulfing the wood that was placed in the grate bowl. Soon enough a cheery warm fire was crackling in front of her as she turned to face the door. At least she had light now as the level fours covered that last few metres separating them.

….

Author's note:

Fem. Allen x Tyki,

Allen/Elena is wearing Allen's second uniform, the one he wore during the ark arc (if that makes any sense)

Please review….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

~Elena~

She activated her innocence, crown clown, gripping her sword of exorcism firmly in her hand. Just moments after this, the door blast open as the two level fours stepped into the room. Their humanoid shape was doll-like and made them almost appear like children. Their heads cocked to the side as if in unison, sizing up the exorcist in front of them.

Elena braced herself as one of the akuma lunged at her, she lifted her blade in defense blocking its foot but a fist caught her off guard. The attack came from the second level four as she crashed into the wall and fell onto the ground coughing like hell.

'Damnit,' she hissed under her breath as the akuma came at her again, this time she custom herself the presence of both akuma as she dodged them.

Suddenly she saw an opening and made the most of it by shredding one of the akuma's sides. It seemed to have sensed its danger as it tried to slip out of the way but Elena's sword had managed to swipe a good handful of its ashen white flesh, an arm and half a leg.

Blood splattered everywhere as Elena watched the injured akuma jump back and hover, blood heavily leaking from its wounds.

'You bitch,' it screamed at her as it morphed its remaining arm into that of a machine gun. Elena's eyes widened when one word danced around in her head… Shit

Then the akuma let loose and array of bullets flying simultaneously towards her. Elena did her best to dodge but the fucking bullets ripped into the flesh of her exposed side and she screamed in pain before collapsing. She felt the blood seep from the open wounds, as fire seemed to ripple through them and around her body. Elena was well aware of the deadly virus that could reduce a normal human to nothing but sand but since she was a parasitic type that was taboo for her.

Elena glanced angrily at the akuma and cleansed her body in a bath of green light, the effects of the virus disappeared to the pentacle of her cursed left eye.

'Don't worry, we're well aware of your little tricks,' the uninjured akuma hissed as it came at her. Elena tried to hold a defense position but her left leg screamed rejection and she seemed to hesitate as the akuma slammed its knee into her abdomen sending her smashing through the wall.

….

~Tyki~

The Noah was calmly taking his time since he had mercilessly snapped the neck of the finder. He was enjoying the blackness that enveloped him making his destination all that more pleasing. But a sudden explosion caused Tyki to stop from his solitary thoughts and focus on a distant light that dared to penetrate the lovely darkness.

Curiosity filled him as he began to wonder if the level four akuma had caught up to whoever it was ahead. Skimming over the surface of the water he stepped into the well-lit room with a fire burning in the middle of it. Tyki felt a sense of deja vu staring at the flames but quickly caught the sight of the blood that seemed to be splattered carelessly around the room.

The two akuma approached him and he noticed that the blood had come from one of them. Its arm was completely missing, along with half of its leg and a huge chuck of flesh from its side. The sight of the injured akuma amused the Noah as he hummed to show it.

'We're dealing with an exorcist, aren't we?' He couldn't hide the grin that was beginning to spread across his face as his gold eyes fell on the huge hole in he wall.

'What do we have here?'

'She deserved it,' one of the akuma bickered aloud as Tyki felt the grin twitch and disappear… she? He felt worry begin to tug at his heart but brought himself to ignore it as he turned to the akuma.

'Well what are you waiting for?' Tyki glared at them as the akuma hesitated briefly before entering the looming darkness that the exorcist had disappeared through. A comforting thought swept into his mind… she doesn't get taken down that easily.

….

~Elena~

Elena groaned as she gazed into the darkness that surrounded her yet again. She saw the hole with light trickling through it and the two dreaded shapes of the akuma as they entered to finish what they had stared. Instinctively, Elena reached for her sword but found it wasn't by her side. Biting her lip to stop herself from cursing, she tried to feel for her innocence.

It was lying somewhere in the darkness a fair distance from her as she went rigid at the akuma slowly came closer.

'Come out, come out wherever you are bitch,' one of the akuma chimed as the other crackled with humor. Like hell she was going to give away her position as she began to call back her sword.

The crumbling of stone came seemed to reply to her as one of the akuma started blasting in the direction of her sword. For once, Elena was surprised but the reaction by the akuma because the darkness hid both of them from each other, giving neither side the advantage.

The blasts shot by the akuma gave away a little light as Elena barely made out her sword. Holding her hand out to it she called it back to her.

The sword whizzed through the air as the blasts from the akuma followed along with it. Purple sparks flew off the swords smooth surface as Elena finally gripped the broadsword in her hand and shield her body with it. She knew this was only temporary until the second level four decided to show up and just like she had said that aloud the akuma appeared.

'Found you,' it said the a childishly evil grin as Elena reeled back and tried to land a hit on the akuma but its companion was ready for this and shot at her exposed side. She hissed through the pain but ignored it as she continued to melee with the akuma in front of her.

Focusing on one of the akuma seemed like the best idea at the time but trying to recover from the virus as well was quickly sapping her energy. That was until she noticed that the akuma had stopped shooting and a dark presence loomed behind her. Elena cursed as the other akuma came up from behind her.

Before Elena could react, the level four lashed out at her sending her further into the darkness. She tumbled cross the ground until she felt the chill of water begin to sink into her uniform yet again.

'You idiot, why'd you do that?' one of the akuma bickered at its companion as the other hissed in reply.

'I wanted to get her back for taking off almost half my body,' it retorted back as Elena rolled her eyes, she was surprised that the akuma had anytime to bicker amongst themselves during a battle. But that was drawn away to something pulsing heavily behind her. It was like a beating heart and she had found her way into the chest cavity.

The akuma seemed to sense it to as they paused from their little argument. Elena wasn't sure if the akuma was glaring towards where the akuma had hurled her towards but knew they were just as complex as she was about the change in the air.

'Is that… innocence?' one of them questioned as the other jeered at it.

'One way to find out,' the other said as a large purple orb was summoned making the darkness treat from the sudden light that erupted into the room. Elena squinted her eyes to see through the dimly lit cavern.

'Oh look, the exorcist,' the injured akuma almost seemed to cheer as Elena struggled to her feet but collapsed back into the water. The coldness of the water seemed to have made her legs go numb as she gritted her teeth.

'You're right,' the akuma with the large orb of dark matter agreed with its companion as it sent the orb her way. Elena threw her coat around her in an effort to protect her numb body from the blast.

But instead of feeling pain rush to every inch of her being something else happened. The water around her seemed to move with its own will engulfing her in a some sort of shield as the orb dispersed on its wet surface.

The eyes of the akuma widened slightly in shock as the water started to move towards them at blinding speeds. Elena could only watch on as the water in the room began to move as if it were an individual being. Her thoughts traced to the finder, who she gravely knew was dead, he had mentioned that this temple was erected to honor a water dragon. Could it be that the water dragon was innocence?

It all began to make sense as Elena drew her eyes away from the struggling akuma and scanned at the water's surface. It had to be here somewhere, probably under the surface. Then her eyes found it, a soft glowing blue glowing in the depths of the water beside an altar. The altar was severely damaged with rumble crushing it.

Gathering her strength, Elena stood up, swaying like a drunkard and walked over to it. She knelt down and submerged her hand reluctantly in the icy water till she felt her fingers curl around something spherical and smooth to her touch.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki leaned against the wrecked side of the hole as he amusedly watched the level four struggled with the water dancing around them. The water seemed to glow an azure blue as it attacked like vicious snakes at the akuma. It was a humorous sight indeed as a smirk graced his lips before drawing his eyes towards the slender figure of the exorcist.

Her white hair clung to the sides of her head and over the front of her uniform. The silver pools shivered in awe as she watched the scene in front of her, unaware of him staring at her.

But what caught his attention were her pale lips held tightly together before her face began to glance around her surroundings. Tyki seemed confused at what had attracted the girl's attention as she slowly got up and stumbled to the furthest part of the where he could barely make of some kind of altar crashed under debris.

The Noah watched as the exorcist bent down and pulled something out of the water. Tyki was tempted to go closer but held back because of the withering water tendrils. It looked as if the water was aware of what was happening and pulled back from the akuma. The girl flinched as it whirled around her but seemed to cause her no harm. Tyki shuddered in jealously at the moving water.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena was shocked as some sort of electricity sparked from the blue pearl like sphere in her hand and into her body. She saw that the water had stopped attacking the level four and were spiraling towards her. Elena flinched as they made contacted with her body but was enveloped in a warm embrace, she was almost convinced it was _he_ but stared at the water that floated around her.

Was the innocence trying to help her?

Elena stared at the akuma as they recovered from their hopeless struggle against the water and zoomed towards her. She slipped the sphere into the pocket of her uniform and quickly activated her innocence again. With her broadsword in hand, she twirled between them like a dance with renewed energy.

She ducked under the attack of one of the akuma before performing an upper cut on the akuma she had injured in the previous room. Elena managed to successfully slice it in half and watched its decapitated body splash into the water at her feet briefly. She then redirected the blade to attack the last remaining akuma but it blocked it and pushed her back.

Elena pushed off the wall instead of smashing into it and came back to attack the level four again. The akuma braced itself again and managed to block the blade several more times before its right arm was severed from its body. A splash echoed around the room and the arm landed into the water and Elena continued her assault.

The level four gritted his teeth in disbelief as it desperately tried to gain the upper hand only to lose its leg in the next attack. Elena tried to strike again but the akuma morphed it arm into a machine gun and blasted her. The girl reeled back into a defensive position and blocked the bullets using the flat side of her blade as a shield. Keeping the sword like that she did her best to move through the water as quickly as she could to shorten the distant between her and it.

Elena found a foothold some wear in the murky water and use it to leap above the akuma's. The level four just glanced up as it slowly came to realize its situation but before it could react, Elena's sword came down and sliced in half. The twitching halves of the blood fell into the water as the exorcist deactivated her innocence.

She was about to pull the sphere out of her pocket when clapping sounds echoed about the chamber.

….

_~Tyki~_

He couldn't help it as he finally decided to enter the now dark cavern, with his gloved hands clapping with pure amusement. He had watched the entire scene unfold and was left with an eagerness that refused to leave him. Tyki couldn't see her, but neither could she of him but he could hear her heavy rhythmic breathing as she slowly recovered from her battle.

Soon enough he was standing beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. The exorcist gasped in surprise as she pounded his chest lightly causing Tyki to chuckle at her shock.

'Tyki?' her voice came, it sounded small and unsure as he lifted her chin up but the darkness hid her face like an annoying veil pissing him off. He longed to see the shimmering silver eyes that he had long ago fell in love with.

His closed the space between their faces feeling her sweet breath warm the chill that began to sink into his skin. Before she could react he skimmed his lips with her own prying them open slightly behind kissing her deeply. The girl moaned softly and shivered in his grip as he pulled away.

'So it is you, Tyki,' she said as he felt her arms wrap around his neck and gained another kiss from him. This time he let his tongue explore the inside of her mouth the sweetness of her tongue entwining with his was exhilarating.

'I'll let you get away with this one,' he moaned moving his mouth from her mouth to her ear relishing the soft groan that escaped her lips.

'That's unlike you, Tyki,' she seemed to mock him as he gently chewed at her ear and began trailing down her neck. He couldn't help but let a chuckle grip his throat as she suddenly pulled away much to his disappointment.

'What?' he could imagine her eyes staring at him with an inquisitive stare despite the blackness as he pulled her retreating figure closer towards him.

'I didn't say I was leaving empty handed,' Tyki whispered in a husky voice as she laughed with amusement at his reply as he began to kiss her neck again.

'The same as usual, I see,' she moaned with pleasure as he nibbled her slender pale neck. He had to hold back the urge to complain at her slightly rude comment but let it slide as she relaxed slowly in his warm embrace.

….

_~Elena~_

She had been startled by his sudden presence as he wrapped his warm arms around her. His embrace was rather welcoming since she had once again taken a dip in the freezing cold water. She was glad he was there but wasn't going to admit that allowed as she felt his teeth scrape pleasantly along her neck.

The darkness didn't seem that intimidating with him holding her closely to his body, the darkness hid them from disapproving eyes. Elena felt his hand trace up along her spine and gently run through her knotted white hair. The gentleness of his hand made her shudder in his grip before she felt warmth grace her lips.

Elena welcomed Tyki in and savored his spicy-tobacco flavor in her mouth as he pulled away much to her dismay.

'Should we continue elsewhere,' he said firmly gripping her hand in his as he pulled her behind him. She felt a smile stretch across her lips as they stepped into the light of the fire but an unsettling thought crossed her mind as she stopped suddenly causing Tyki to look at her with his golden eyes of his Noah form.

'What is it my love?' he said in that venomous voice of his as he drew her closer as if worried about her wellbeing. Elena stared up at the dark complexion that stared back at her before glancing away.

'What if there are akuma around?' she voiced her concerns as the man she loved chuckled and kissed her forehead closed to where the pentacle that scarred the left side of her face was.

'Don't worry, as far as I'm concerned there are no akuma within this province,' Tyki said as he nuzzled her ear as she moaned softly. Elena felt slightly better with him saying that, he had no reason to lie to her, as he too wanted to have as much alone time with her.

'You're right,' she sighed with an innocent smile that would make even the coldest man to soft as Tyki picked her up suddenly and carried her bridal style as he stepped into the darkness. Elena didn't protest much since she didn't fancy walking through the cold water again and clenched her fist reassuringly against his chest.

….

_~Tyki~_

No one saw them arrive as night fell around them. The villagers were throwing a huge festival because the water had returned to village. Their nature tongues feel on deaf ears as he was pulled along by with white-headed girl in front of him. Her eyes sparkled in the flickering candlelight as they slipped into the inn she was staying at and then to her room.

Tyki quickly closed the door and turned the lock as he pulled the girl closer to him. He had a better view of her in the dim room and was glad of it as he leaned in and graced her lips with a kiss. Her mouth twitched as she opened it and let his tongue dance with hers as he leaned her gently against the bed. The silver thread glistened in the moonlight as he pulled the zip down and exposed her chest.

'Shall I continue?' he whispered as she wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled him closer.

'I don't see why not,'

….

**Author's note**

**I seemed to have stopped at the best part but to be honest I feel really giddy if I did write it so I'll let your imagination go a bit.**

**Please review…**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

_~Elena~_

She squinted her eyes as the sunlight flooded through her window; she rolled over feeling very peaceful. Elena let her hand search the side of her but was slightly disappointed to find it cold and empty. She sat up in bed holding the sheet over her chest as she scanned the room trying to find her lover but he was nowhere to be seen.

'What an asshole?' She couldn't help but grizzle as she noticed her clothes neatly folded over the back of the chair and a note tucked into one of the pocket. Curious Elena got out of bed wrapping the sheet around her slender body and pulled the note free. She recognized Tyki's handwriting immediately as she read the note.

_Elena, _

_Sorry I couldn't be there to see you wake up but I enjoyed last night_

_Take care,_

_Tyki_

Elena smirked at the brief yet heartfelt note and placed it on the table before getting dressed and gathered her things. She neatened the room and left holding the key in one hand and the note scrunched in the other. The innkeeper greeted her cheerfully as Elena handed over her key and said that her company would be unable to return his own. When the innkeeper nodded sadly and left, Elena than walked over to the fireplace and threw the note in.

She watched the note burn in the flames with sadness; it was like the memories of last night were burning with it. Elena shook her head and began her slow journey home alone with the faint feeling of Tyki on her lips.

….

_~Tyki~_

The Noah stepped through the heart-shaped door that presented himself before him and was quickly greeted by the torturous hug of the spiky haired girl.

'Welcome back, Uncle Tyki,' she chimed as Tyki struggled to pry her fingers away so that he could continue.

'It's good to see you too, Road,' Tyki said patting the girl's head as she finally let go. They walked down the hall with Tyki barely listening to Road's complaints of school and an upcoming ball her father was going to hold. He mind wondered off to the white haired girl with her infectious smile and silver pools.

'Hey, are you even listening to me?' Road seem to demand as Tyki snapped from his pleasure to shrug at the girl.

'I heard something about Sheril hosting yet another ball,' Tyki tried to convince the girl but she stood there glaring at him as he strolled into the dining room where the twins and Skin Bolic were having an argument about what was sweet and what was not.

'Good morning to you too,' Tyki said with a sigh as he swiftly dodged the remains of a bowl of porridge that Skin had thrown in an effort of hitting one of the twins. The Noah in the room paused briefly to acknowledge Road and Tyki's presence before continuing on with their argument.

'I see everyone's bright eyed this morning,' a voice called from behind Tyki and Road as everyone turned around and saw the hulking figure of the Earl as he joined his family for lunch. The Noah silently took their seats as maids came in cleaned up the mess and placing yet more food in front of them.

'Good morning Millennie,' Road chirped as she through her small arms around the figure as the Earl looked down and greeted the girl with a pat on the head before taking his own seat at the head of the table.

'Seems like the Order have relaxed over our small break,' the Earl seemed to say as everyone glanced up from his or her meals, wondering what on earth the head was talking about.

'I suppose we can play around with the exorcists a little more before opening to the next act,' this sparked Tyki's interest as he placed his fork down and leaned forward. Road, the twins and Skin were doing if not similar, the same thing, anxiously waiting for the Earl's words

'So we're going to have some fun by causing turmoil about their 'comradeship',' the twins jeered at one another as they tired to comprehend their excitement. Road was sitting inappropriately in her chair as if she was ready to jump into the Earl's lap at any moment. Tyki sighed hopeless eyeing the Earl to finally spit it out.

'Take as many akuma as you want and set out to dispose of the innocence… and maybe some of their intelligence units,' Earl said shuffling some cards in his hands. His mouth firmly fixed in a wide toothed grin as each Noah received a card.

'Here is the location of where a large number of their finders can be found, besides…' the family waited.

'The Order cannot innocence as easily without the investigations from their finders,' the twins and Road crackled up laughing, the evilness scared Tyki slightly since he seemed older than them. He glanced down at his card and sighed, it looked like he wasn't going to see Elena for a while.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena stepped off the boat as the finder bent down and tied it to its moorings before continuing up stairs towards Komui's office. Her mission had been a success but what made her even happier was that she was able to see Tyki again. Several people glanced her way wondering about what had gotten the white haired exorcist in such a good mood.

She entered the science area where the scientists were busy as usual at their analysis and weird experiments. Elena stood outside Komui's office before rapping on the door. No reply came so she knocked again but still nothing. Elena sighed as she came to the grim conclusion that the head supervisor was sleeping on the job again. She opened the door and crossed the floor scattered with an abundance of papers before peering behind the large piles of paper on Komui's desk.

Low and behold, the head supervisor was fast asleep with his head resting on his desk and his quill lazily falling from his grip.

'Komui… Komui wake up,' Elena said to the sleeping man as she shook him but the man was fast asleep like usual while the others were working their asses off. She than sighed as she leaned close to Komui's ear.

'I heard that Lenalee's getting married,' she whispered as the man instantly woke up with a death stare and equipment buzzing in his hand. Elena had to wonder where he kept them as Komui finally noticed her.

'Oh, welcome back, Elena,' he said as he adjusted his barrette, Elena just shook her head at the sister-complex supervisor before pulling out the blue sphere she had gathered from the ruined temple. The man played with his glasses as he took the object from Elena and examined it.

'What is it?' Komui asked her as she shrugged and took a seat on the couch.

'It is innocence that was causing the lack of water to the village,' Elena explained the situation though left out the parts about Tyki and her sleeping with him. The head supervisor nodded continuously as he listened to the exorcist and sighed.

'It's a shame we lost a finder,' Komui said before placing the sphere on his desk. His movements puzzled Elena, as she was about to get up and take the orb off him.

'Let me do some experiments to confirm this water theory of yours before I allow you to take it to Hevlaska,' the man explained as Elena nodded but was not convinced completely by the man's words.

'If there's nothing else, I'm going to get something to eat,' Elena said as she felt a grumbling occur in her stomach as she got up to leave the office.

'See you later then,' Komui seemed to cheer to her before sitting back down behind his desk. Elena was convinced that he would fall back to sleep as soon as she left the room but didn't let it stop her from heading to the cafeteria where she saw a familiar head of long green hair talking enthusiastically to a redhead.

'Lenalee,' Elena called out to her friend as Lenalee and the redhead turned to look at her approach them. The Chinese girl waved a cheerful hello as Elena quickly passed them and ordered her food from the head chef, Jerry. She came back with a cart full of food and sat across from Lenalee and the redhead.

'Where's my hello, beansprout?' the redhead chirped as Elena almost choked on her food she was wolfing down quickly enough to fill the black-hole-of-a-stomach. She looked up and glared at the redhead.

'It's good to see you too, stupid rabbit,' Elena retorted with a commonly called nickname the redhead went by. The man replied by sticking out his tongue and acting all hurt by her words.

'Don't act like Yuu, Elena,' the redhead said as Elena glanced up and the dark presence looming behind him.

'I'd be careful Lavi, the devil has ears,' Elena said and began to gulp down her food, emptying several dishes as she went. Lavi blinked at her in confusion before he finally realized the murderous aura behind him. Lavi glanced up as a pissed off samurai loomed over him and gripped the handle of his katana and began to unsheathe it.

'Ah, hi Yuu, you're looking… the same as usual,' Lavi stammered as Elena glanced up to see what would happen next as the shoulders of the samurai shuddered in rage.

'Shut up,'

'Come on don't be mean,'

'I said shut up and never use my fucking first name AGAIN, baka usagi!' that made the man snap as Lavi leapt over the table followed closely by the samurai. Elena shuffled across in her seat to avoid being caught by the chaos as Lavi ran away fearing for his 'pathetic life' as the samurai put it.

'Help me, Lenalee!' the redhead pleaded with Lenalee as she sighed and stood up with Elena staring at the situation with amusement.

'Elena that's not nice, next time it could be you,' Lenalee said as she ran off in the direction that Lavi and the samurai had exited the cafeteria. Elena looked back her food and sighed.

'At least I fight back,' Elena murmured in a low voice and hurried to finish her food and walked back to her room. A relaxing bath sounded like a good idea as she grabbed her stuff and headed to the girl's bathroom. She peered at the steaming hot water, looking for any signs of abnormality that would be caused by Komui adding something to the water.

When she finally decided it was safe she stripped and submerged herself with a relieving sigh in the hot water. The steam drifted around her giving the bathroom a high humidity as she ran her hand over her arms to wash herself.

Her thoughts drifted to last night where Tyki's warm body brushed against hers and the pleasure she felt till she her heart began to yearn for him again. Why was fate so cruel? She was left to wander as she leaned back and sighed and stared that her pale legs that looked like white wriggling line on the surface of the water. Elena couldn't help but wonder what Tyki was up to now, probably back at the Ark or hanging out with his 'human' friends.

She smiled softly as she touched the mark he had left behind on her skin just below her neck. It was a sweet, visible reminder of her lover and the night they had shared together.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki emerged from the Ark followed by several dozens of akuma, most of which were level three. It was a good idea to go after the finders and give the akuma a chance to level up and to give the Order a heart attack, if that were possible.

He smirked as he eyed the town below him where he had been assigned to go and hunt the finders. He could see them visibly as they stood out of the crowd with that long tan coats and telephone device strapped to their backs. It was a reasonably large group of them, about fifty or so but Tyki wasn't counting as he flicked his fingers and a small group of akuma split from the main group and sped towards the town.

The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he would be able to see Elena again though she might be happy to have her comrades killed. He could clearly see the distress in her eyes for when she finds out that he gave a hand in the killings. She would clearly be pissed with Tyki but she would still love him the same.

It was a curse for her as much as it was for him. He loved her too much that just thinking about her pearly skin against his made him beckon for more of her, if only for a few more moments.

Tyki distracted himself from his thoughts as the akuma returned shortly after turning the small village on its head and leaving nothing but tattered clothes and toppled buildings before he turned on his foot and led the akuma away to their next destination.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena froze as she stood in Komui's office; Lenalee was on the couch sobbing her eyes out with Kanda's hand on her shoulder as if comforting her though his expression said otherwise. Lavi stood behind her, his mouth hanging slightly open as he too caught the dreaded news from the head supervisor.

'How many finders were killed again?' Elena gasped, as her head couldn't process the information Komui was giving them. The man standing behind the desk looked just as distressed from this as they were as he glanced up to look at them again.

'A total of three hundred and fifty-three finders were killed by several hoards of akuma over the past week,' Komui reconfirmed to the exorcists standing in front of him as Lenalee just cried harder. Kanda gritted his teeth, he was clearly having a hard time hiding his real emotions while Lavi's eyes clouded with grief even though he wasn't suppose to have any connection to them. Elena just stood there her hand clasped over her mouth while her head span with many thoughts.

She knew that Tyki was involved somewhere in the killings because akuma were never that organized unless led to do so by a Noah or the Millennium Earl himself.

'We've already lost almost a quarter of our finders so that is why I'm sending you to Spain where a large number of finders are stationed,' Komui said further as he stared at the exorcists as they in turn looked at each other.

'The Earl will likely attack them next so I need you to leave as soon as you can to protect them and bring them back to headquarters,' Komui explained as Lavi spoke up suddenly.

'Why not send them the order inside of us, Komui?' he asked as the head supervisor sighed as if expecting any less of the Bookman.

'We sent the order to only small groups of finders because if they get whiffed of the mass murder of finders, they will begin to panic, besides that I sent them one message…' Komui said as Lavi eyed him waiting for him to spit it out.

'What kind of message?' Elena asked as Komui gazed at her with steady eyes.

'I told them that they will soon be attacked by a large hoard of akuma and to be on high alert,' as he finished his sister, Lenalee dried up her tears and stood up with a determined stare despite her eyes being red.

'What are we waiting for?' Lenalee said as she hurried out of the room followed closely by Kanda, Lavi and finally Elena. The exorcists quickly headed towards the docks and with Lavi taking the oar, they departed.

….

~Someone's POV~

I gazed down at the large heavily walled city of Barcelona, a lovely city in Spain as I twirled the umbrella in my grip. The finders below were busy bustling around in the streets below my perch on the shoulder of an akuma. The futile efforts to reinforce the defenses were enough to make me laugh hard.

'When shall we attack, Noah-sama?' the akuma whose shoulder I was sitting on asked. I closed the umbrella and poked it in the side of its face for asking me such an annoying question.

'When some fun arrives, it looks like their aware of what Millennie's planning,' I smirked before ordering the akuma to take me back to the mountains where the others of my hoard were waiting as patiently as they could to go about killing.

When I arrived back I saw a tall figure with a lit cigarette sitting on a boulder looking at the sunset that began to fall over the land. The sky, I noticed was a lovely bright red like the candy I had in my back pocket.

'Tyki~ what are you doing here? This is my area,' I said called to him as he looked briefly startled by my approach before showing off a lazy smile.

'I've finished my errand in America, thought I'd come around to see what my niece is up to,' I poked my tongue at him as he recovered from his shock. I actually didn't mind him being here.

'Well I hoping for some fun tonight, do you care to join me?' I asked him as he stared at me as if he was wondering why had even asked.

'That is why I'm here,' he said as he stood up and breathed in the last of his cigarette before stamping on it. I chuckled at him as I through my arms around his waist.

'Let's drench the streets in blood,'

….

**Author's note:**

**Ooh, cliffhanger, I'm sure you know who's POV it is so I won't explain further.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter though it lacks a few things but oh well, that might come up next…**

**Please post any reviews or opinions… loved to hear from my readers**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

_~Elena~_

She, Kanda, Lenalee and Lavi were nearing the city of Barcelona where Komui said held a large number of their finders. Night was falling quickly and an attack from the akuma was inevitable. The exorcists stopped short of their destination and froze where they stood. Even from their distant several kilometers from the city, the screams of the finders were still audible.

'Lenalee, take Kanda and fly ahead, Lavi and I will continue on,' Elena quickly took charge as Lenalee nodded and activated her innocence, dark boots and zoomed ahead with Kanda firmly in her grip. She had suggested the pairing not because Kanda would not protest with it but because Lenalee could get there the quickest while Kanda had superior fighting skills against large hoards of akuma.

Lavi eyed her briefly as she launched off the cliff and activated her own innocence, crown clown ruffled around her as her left arm became a long slender black arm with long razor-like fingers.

'Little hammer, big hammer, extend…' Lavi said as he activated his innocence and followed closely behind as they hurried as fast as they could to aid their friends.

They finally reached the entrance when Elena noted that even akuma had manners when setting siege to a city. They had entered through the gate that had been blown off its hinges. She gritted her teeth as she extend her clown belt and shot up quickly to the top of the wall where several finders were beginning attacked.

Elena jumped into action be defecting the bullets and slaying the akuma with a swipe of her claws. She turned to the finders as they stared at her in hope and relief.

'Hurry and find shelter,' she urged them as the finders hurried to do what she had asked as she leapt off the wall and into the city destroying several more akuma using her clown belt. The streets were littered with the uniforms of finders that had died at the hands of the akuma already; Elena lost count of how many she saw by just standing there.

A sudden blast drew her attention away from the deceased finders as she cursed to herself. She didn't have time to worry over the dead, as there were still finders who could still be saved. Elena rushed towards the sound of the noise but Lavi beat her to it, summoning his fire seal, Hell's fire and eliminating the akuma in the vicinity of his seal.

'What's wrong, beansprout? You've gotten slower,' Elena loathed when the redhead began to make smart remarks in the middle of a battlefield as she glared at him. He coughed before bounding over the rooftops towards the sounds of finders. Elena was sort of glad he left as she continued deeper into the city destroy the akuma as she came across them and advising any surviving finders to seek shelter.

But the task was never easy to start with especially when she got to some finders seconds to late and was wreck with guilt of not getting there sooner. It was more appropriate to say she was distraught by the events unfolding in front of her and whatever Elena did had little or no effect on the doomed finders.

They were dropping like flies around her, despite hating to use Kanda's words he had said to describe them when she had first arrived in the Black Order. Elena skidded to a halt as she noticed a group of finders managing to stay safe by activating a barrier around them but she knew against level threes the effect of the barrier was greatly diminished.

She rushed forward drawing her broadsword from her left arm and attacked the surrounding akuma with it.

….

_~Tyki~_

He sat there admiring the view of the city but only for his dull amusement as he tried to block that annoying complaining that the umbrella gave when Road abused it. Road herself was a different matter; she was sitting cross-legged on the shoulder of another akuma whacking the unfortunate umbrella against the akuma's hard skull. The akuma didn't seem to enjoy it as much as the umbrella did but was wise enough not to voice a complaint since it was after all, a servant of the Noah.

The akuma Tyki was perched on chuckled softly to itself seeing the suffering of its kinsman. Tyki decided to ignore it and focus once more on the one-sided battle going on below. A sudden blur of white flashed across as Tyki raised his eyebrows in interest. The streak dart around causing many explosions as it went; there were other explosions elsewhere but this particular thing looked strangely familiar.

'The entertainment has arrived,' Tyki spoke up as Road paused from hitting Lero across the akuma's head and glanced down. Tyki couldn't help but wince when a sadistic smile graced her childish features.

'Now the fun begins,' she crackled devilishly as she opened up Lero and began to float down to the roofs of the houses below. Tyki ordered the akuma to descend too as he hoped off and waited for Road to gracefully land on the tips of her toes and spin the poor umbrella around before stopping.

'I'm going to play with the flying girl with the lovely long hair, what are you going to do Tyki?' Road asked as she began to skip away from him holding Lero firmly in her hand. Tyki thought for a bit though he didn't actually need to, he already knew who he wanted to play with.

'I saw something interesting handing towards the docks,' Tyki replied with a smirk as Road chuckled and waved a lazy goodbye heading off towards the unfortunate exorcist that had caught her attention. Tyki sighed and scratched the back of his head as he ordered to akuma to join its kinsmen before heading towards the docks.

The docks were just as chaotic as the rest of the city as Tyki allowed his tease to eat away at the finders who happened to have crossed paths with him. The akuma acknowledged his presence only briefly before returning to the main task given to them. Tyki didn't mind as he stepped through the walls of a building, excusing his rudeness to the occupants that gaped at him and walked through the other wall.

He looked out at the shimmering sea reflecting the moon's fullness as he turned his gaze to a nearby by explosion. Sure enough a slender figure, draped in white danced around with a broadsword about the same size as the exorcist who wielded it.

Tyki casually strolled towards them as a familiar voice rose from the figure.

'Head for cover quickly,' the feminine voice seemed to order them as the finders rushed off leaving the white figure standing there alone briefly. The figure glanced up and jumped onto the roof and dashed away much to Tyki's disappointment as he followed after them.

It took a while for the figure to finally notice that he was following before swinging their sword towards him. Tyki simply blocked it with a wall of dark matter as silver eyes stared furiously into his own.

'It's good to see you two, Elena,' he chuckled as the exorcist backed away with a jump or two from him. Tyki just moved his arms as if he didn't know why she had done that into the first place.

'Why are you attacking the finders? They don't have innocence,' Elena questioned him; it stung him that she didn't greet him at all as he whimpered playfully.

'It's just orders, shojo, nothing more,' he simply replied and watched her gaze light up with murderous hate. He couldn't help but feel like he was in for it not like he wasn't looking forward to it because it was a rare opportunity to exchange blows.

'You…' she hissed as she lunged towards him. Tyki casually stepped back and avoided the head-cutting swipe that was aimed at his head.

'Let's dance Elena,'

….

_~Elena~_

Elena span away from Tyki released his tease towards her; she didn't like that man-eating golems that he possessed. Her head was swimming with many different emotions but it was mostly hate but in her heart it was different, her loved seemed more powerful when she hated him.

When he had said those words, 'let's dance…', her heart singed with agreement as they clashed blades. Their attacks were simultaneous and were always countered as they tried to gain an advantage over the other.

Elena skidded across the roof tiles as Tyki roughly shoved her back; she was panting heavily but refused to give in before a cry of distress distracted her. She glanced in the direction of the sound as she leapt off the building leaving a rather heartbroken Tyki behind.

She quickly made her way towards the sound and barely made it in time as a finder tripped over his own feet. Elena intervened and destroyed the akuma as the man quickly thanked her and hurried off to find shelter.

'That was quite rude of you leaving in the middle of our dance,' a deep voice whispered lovingly into her ear as she whipped around to face the Noah that had followed her. Elena gritted her teeth as she raised her sword and began to attack Tyki again. He dodged each of her blows with ease as she continued to fume in anger, must he always play with her.

Suddenly she decided to feint an attack and butted him in the abdomen with the hilt of her broadsword as Tyki gasped in pain and staggered away from her. He was clutching his stomach in pain but recovered a few moments later much to her disappointment.

'Neat trick there, shojo, but how about…this,' this time Elena was forced into defense as Tyki swung at her with purple blades made from his tease. She dodged where she could and blocked when she couldn't as she tried her best to avoid being hit by his attack.

'Elena,' a voice called from above them as both she and Tyki looked up in surprise as a hammer came down and Tyki dropped into the ground to avoid it. A redhead landed shortly after as Elena blinked off her shock as Lavi adjust his headband. She wasn't quite pleased that he had interrupted her but she didn't make that thought evident on her face.

'Thanks Lavi,' Elena said what the redhead wanted to hear as he smiled his wide goofy smile before becoming serious.

'Seems like there are some Noah about Elena, Lenalee was just attacked by that girl with the spiky hair and the Earl's umbrella,' Lavi explained as Elena nodded in understanding when she realized he must have been talking about Road Kamelot.

'How many akuma are left?' Elena had to ask to change the subject as Lavi scratched his head thoughtfully.

'If I'm correct I saw about seventy-two on my way down to hit curly-tops but there could be more than that,' Lavi grimaced at his own words as an explosion rippled room a building close to them as them quickly leapt into action.

….

_~Tyki~_

He wasn't his Elena disappear with the redhead that rudely interrupted their 'dance'. He had been listening to their conversation from around the corner before jumping up to the roof and summoning down an akuma. A level three quickly responded and he was taken up high into the high where Road was waiting for him.

'Have fun Tyki~?' She asked him as he shrugged before he telepathically told the surviving akuma to retreat since they had already dealt a heavy blow to the finder units stationed in the city.

'Millennie should be pleased with what we've achieved,' Road began to chatter as they flew across the sea with the remaining akuma of both their hoards until something that looked like broken mirror shards opened up in front of them. Tyki and Road entered with the akuma where they were greeted by the Millennium Earl and the rest of the family.

Tyki hopped off the akuma he was riding on and greeted his family. The umbrella in Road's hand squirmed free and flew over to the Earl bawling its eyes out.

'You did well Tyki-pon, Road,' the Earl praised them as Tyki nodded hiding the twitch in his eye and Road wrapped her arms as best she could around the Earl's large figure.

'Thanks Millennie, that should be enough trouble for the Order for now right?' she looked up and made puppy-eyes at the Earl who just chuckled and patted the girl's head.

'Yes for the time being, we'll wait patiently for our next move,'

….

_~Elena~_

Morning had finally arrived at Barcelona, where the exorcists gather the remaining finders and Lavi calculated their losses.

'From the two hundred and eleven finders stationed in this city only seventy-three made it through the night,' Lavi confirmed to his friends as Lenalee burst into tears again while both Kanda and Elena comforted her. It was easy to tell that Kanda had a soft side for Lenalee and only Lenalee as Elena walked away and glanced at the mourning finders.

She was shedding a few silent tears of her own at the lives she had failed to save last night. All those times she could have reacted quicker or gotten there sooner would have saved several more finders than what was in front of her.

Lavi came up behind Elena and placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her with a wordless smile before heading off. Elena guessed he was off to report to Komui about what they were able to achieve last night and of the sad news about the unfortunate finders.

Lavi came back to them moments later with some new orders from Komui.

'He told us to return immediately to headquarters so that he can hold a meeting about what has been going on for the past week,' Lavi explained as the exorcists nodded and said their farewells, except Kanda of course and took the first train back to headquarters.

A few days later, the group returned to a very silent Order, everyone was whispering amongst himself or herself and Elena could clearly sense the hostility amongst everyone they passed.

'Something isn't right?' Lenalee whispered to her friends beside her, Elena and Lavi nodded in agreement while Kanda just 'che'.

'I don't blame them, the Order has taken heavy casualties from our finder units and it'll take several months to replenish them,' Lavi said as if trying to explain a situation they were all fully aware of. Elena nudged him painfully in the stomach as the young Bookman winced in pain.

The exorcists finally arrived at Komui's office where their fellow exorcists, Miranda, Noise, Daisya, Suman and Generals Klaud, Yeegar, Tiedoll and Zokalo, greeted them. As usual, General Cross was nowhere to be seen; Elena guessed he was out somewhere drinking to his hearts content surrounded by women. The thought made her seethe.

Komui stood behind his desk with two other scientists, one was short with dark hair almost in a perm and circular glasses and the other was taller with blond spiky hair and a goatee.

'I'm sure you're fully aware of the attacks on out intelligence units,' Komui commenced the meeting as the exorcists listened as intensively as they could.

'We have come to believe that the Earl is hindering us in our search for innocence or trying to scare us,' the exorcists murmured amongst each other before the head supervisor called back their attention. Elena felt very concerned as she remembered Tyki's words, 'it's just orders, shojo…'. She couldn't help but grit her teeth with irritation.

'So for the time being, we're going to keep a low profile and only send you out on missions when the need arises,' Komui said as Kanda protested to the new orders but Tiedoll told him to relax and sit back down. This only caused the young man to storm out of the room leaving everyone to murmur again.

'Is that the same for us Generals?' Yeegar asked as Komui eyed the oldest General with respect.

'No since your orders come from the Grand Generals,' Komui responded before closing the meeting their. Elena walked out with Lavi and Lenalee as they decided to head to the cafeteria to think through what the head supervisor said to them. But mostly because Elena was hungry, which didn't surprise her friends but amused them instead with Elena blushed a deep scarlet.

As soon as they arrived, they ordered their food and sat down. A painful silence drifted between them as Elena pulled her thought away from all the recent events and wondered if she would ever see Tyki again. Even if he was involved in the finders' deaths she still loved him dearly and fighting him had only proved it to her. Elena sighed as she placed her last empty bowl in front of her and her friends glanced up at her in confusion.

'Is something wrong, Elena?' Lenalee asked as Elena shook her head in response.

'No, nothing at all,' but that was a lie being covered by that innocent smile of hers as her thoughts drifted towards Tyki once more.

….

**Author's note**

**Yah, another chapter but a little short compare to my first three… oh well.**

**I received a rather humorous review asking why I use ' instead of ". The answer's simply… I'm just lazy like that but thanks for the question anyway. **

**Please continue to review and ask questions if you're unsure about anything I write (that tends to happen now and then, I sometimes can't understand myself ~sweat drops~)... **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

**~Note to readers… the plot has reached a slow point at the moment so please bare with me as I write this part…**

….

_~Elena~ _

Elena sighed as she stared at the final bowl of food standing in front of her. It had been a full week… a full week since she was last on a mission but that wasn't the worst part. She hadn't seen him in a week either. Komui hadn't been kidding when he said that he was holding back on missions. It didn't bother her much but at the same time pissed her off.

The only ones allowed to do as they pleased were the Generals but they were, after all… Generals. Elena sighed again and pushed the food away, she had lost her appetite despite already hoeing into more than thirty different dishes.

She spied a girl walking towards her, her long green hair streaming from the two pigtails on her head.

'Good morning Elena,' the girl said as Elena couldn't help but roll her eyes, everything was beginning to look routine. Get up… Go to the cafeteria… Eat breakfast… Receive a 'good morning' from Lenalee… Then after that would jumble around a bit but is relatively the same as the previous day.

'Oh don't be like that Elena, we get to spend more time together,' Lenalee, as usual was seeing the better side of things, which forced her to bit her lip from retorting and blurting out her secret. She felt a tang of jealousy for the Chinese girl because she got to see the person she liked every single day while Elena had to wait for missions for a chance to see him.

'I'm not, it's just that I think Komui went overboard this time, I know he has good intentions with what he does but seriously…' Elena couldn't help but moan aloud, her usually positive mood was slowly replaced with irritation and impatience making those around her wonder where the real 'Elena' was.

Lenalee eyed her white haired friend before sitting down next to her with concern plastered over her pretty features.

'Cheer up Elena, I'm sure brother is beginning to calm down after the little show the Earl put on. He's just worried that the Clan of Noah with start aiming for us exorcists,' Lenalee again with her friend's concerns in mind said with another smile on her face as Elena forced one just to make her friend happy before standing up to leave.

'You're right, Lenalee,' she said as she turned to leave with Lenalee close behind her.

'Of course I am,'

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki sat at the dining table shuffling through the deck of cards in his hand, he was bored but he knew he wasn't alone. Further down the corridor he couldn't help but wince at the tormented cries of Lero as Road tried to relieve her boredom.

Things had quieted down since he and Road attacked and slaughtered most of the finders in Barcelona. The Black Order's movements were equal to nothing and that meant he wouldn't be seeing Elena anytime soon, which made the wait just a little more unbearable.

'Something's bothering you, Tyki,' a voice rang through his thoughts as Tyki almost dropped the cards in shock at the sudden approach of a fellow Noah. Tyki glared at the young man as he entered the room has white hair was held away from his face with a turban as three diamond like eyes decorated his forehead.

'Do you mind not reading my thoughts, Wisely,' Tyki grumbled as he placed the deck faced down and drew one card and glared at a six of spade. Wisely chuckled at the defensive tone Tyki took as he sat across from him.

'Stupid Tyki, I can't fully read your mind, I can see a faint image of a girl…'

'Oh shut up and leave me alone,' Tyki hissed flicking the six of spade at the turban man who easily dodged it with a rather disappointed sighed.

'Throwing a tantrum doesn't get you anywhere, brother,' Wisely said as Tyki continued to grizzle and picked up another card, this time if was a queen of heart. The turban man fell silent and gazed at Tyki with slight curiosity; Tyki didn't like it and held the card up over the man's face as to not see that annoying expression.

'You're hiding something aren't you?' Tyki lowered the card and caught the sinister smirk on the man's lips before rolling his eyes and flicking the card. This time Wisely made no attempt to dodge it and it rocketed off the man's cheek. The Noah glanced down and picked up the queen of heart, spinning it between his fingers.

'If they Earl has no use of me, I'll take my leave,' Tyki said in a low voice snatching back his card and picking up the one that had landed on the floor. He went down the corridor before a pink umbrella with a pumpkin head rushed towards him. Tyki ignored it as he continued passed, the umbrella paused and glanced towards the Noah as he disappeared through one of the Ark's many gates.

'Tyki-dono?' the umbrella murmured in confusion before tensing.

'Lero~ How dare you run off?' a voice screeched after it as the umbrella ran for its life. (How's that even possible?)

….

**Author's note:**

**Because this is just a 'setting the next stage of the plot' chapter, it is rather short**

**Please keep up with the reviews and questions (if you have any)…**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

**I was thinking that about what you would do if you loved someone, what lengths would you go to see him or her? So this is what I came up with…**

….

_~Elena~_

Elena stormed off towards her room, yet again; Komui had refused to let her or anyone for that matter out on any mission until he was sure that the Earl wouldn't try anything else. She passed by a confused Lavi and concerned Lenalee but ignored their futile efforts to get her attention.

Elena couldn't and wouldn't stay another minute cooped up in the Order, she was an exorcist for Christ sake, and it was her job to put her life on the line for others. She had sworn it, to her foster father, to never stop and to keep walking.

Well that's what she planned to do, even if she was going to disobey Komui's orders. Elena waited for night to fall when she knew most of the activity in the Order would quiet down.

The only noise would come from the science department downstairs where they would well into the early hours of the morning. But none of them would bother checking to see if she was still in her room.

Elena glanced up along the corridor to make sure no one was around when she slipped out of her room. She wore a long black coat with a hood covering her snow-white hair as she hurried silently towards the docks.

Her progress was irritably slow due to the fact that there were still a few people awake and they were mainly the guards and a few finders. Elena bid her time despite her impatience and descended the stairs with care once she reached them.

Knowing Komui, he might have placed some guards there to stop anyone from leaving or making an attempt to leave anyway. Elena peered at the docks where a boat was tied to the moorings but as she suspected there were two guards, alert and ready for any sign of trouble.

Elena calculated her next move trying to make the best decision where she would be able to pass the guards and take the boat without letting them know. The only option was a painful one, which Elena was hesitant to do but if she stayed even another week with the moody samurai and the energetic rabbit she'd be damned.

Darting out like a swift breeze, Elena moved behind the guards without them noticing her presence before she gave them a good whack on the back of the head.

'Please forgive my rudeness,' Elena murmured to the guards as she untied the boat and hopped in steadily herself as she took control of the oar. She hadn't rebelled like that for a very long time but she grimly shook those unpleasant memories away.

She would just go wondering around and breathe in the fresh air of the outside world that lay beyond the Order's walls. And if there was a slight chance, she might meet Tyki.

….

_~Tyki~_

The air was crisp and cold as he stepped out onto the train platform, he traded his formal, noble appearance for that of a street urchin and enjoyed the freedom that it gave him. Tyki smiled and placed a cigarette into his mouth before lighting it and taking a deep breath. He inhaled the cancer stick savoring to tobacco flavor that sang strongly on his tongue and pleasantly tightened his throat.

'Oi, Tyki, glad you could make it,' a voice called from behind him, Tyki turned around and was greeted by his 'white' friends, humans he still stayed in contact with while remaining a faithful Noah to the Earl… well almost.

'Hey, Mumbo, Crash, Ease, long time no see,' Tyki had forgotten how much he longed to use the laidback slang that the Earl forbade him to use while accompanying his family.

'Heh, glad you got out of work, huh?' a rather small man with a stripped beanie smirked as Tyki chuckled humorously while ruffling Ease's blonde locks. Being around them made it easy to forget the burden he had to carry and the dull ache of not seeing Elena even if it had been only a week.

'Seems like I'm in time to join you,' Tyki said slinging his bag over his shoulder before stubbing out the cigarette he had finished smoking. The other man, slightly taller than the one with the beanie, slung the pickaxe over his shoulder and gave Tyki a sly look.

'Sure, if you're free that is,' Tyki snickered as his friends words and pulled another cigarette from his pocket before lighting it. A few moments passed while he and his friends were talking when the train arrived with a distant cry of its horn.

They got onto the train and made their way into one of the less extravagant carriage with still the bare minimum comfort for the long journey to the mine. As they entered it, a small commotion was taking place with a small group of men possessing pickaxes and well-worn backpacks. Tyki was well aware they too were heading to the mine but what draw his attention was a figure covered by a long black coat. The figure had their back turned to Tyki and his companions with a hood covered their hair.

'Aw common, don't be rude,' one of the men teased them trying to place his hand on their shoulder. The figure reacted by snapping one of their hands and whacking the man's hand away. The man recoiled, hissing in pain and clutching his wrist as a result. Tyki was mildly amused by the scene but reluctantly sat down with his friends in a spare booth, his chair facing directly opposite to the small gathering at the other end of the train.

'Tough break they have there,' Mumbo murmured leaning towards Tyki to whisper it into his ear as Tyki nodded in agreement.

'You'll regret that,' the man who clutched his painful wrist spat as he lashed out suddenly catching the figure off guard and wrenching the hood off their head. Tyki froze as snow-white hair fell over their shoulders from the ponytail that held it up and was reminded of another who had similarly if not the same hair colour.

'Oh, looks like a snow fairy joined us,' another chuckled as he gave the white head a shove. The figure ducked under the hand and landed a hard punch in the man's gut. Tyki couldn't help but chuckle aloud as Mumbo and Crash stared at the commotion just as the man fell to the ground gripping his stomach.

The group of men stepped back uneasily, they were unsure of how to react with their friend groaning at their feet as the white head continued to gaze out the window. Tyki couldn't help but frown… why was the white haired figure making him uncomfortable?

….

_~Elena~_

Elena had been enjoying a peaceful train ride until a group of roughly dress men boarded the train. They carried worn out backpacks and pickaxes that made her suggest that they were coming for the mining that offered work around this time of year.

They were about to pass by her seat when one of them seemed to notice just how out of place she was. She was the only black-cloaked figure in the carriage surrounded by the lower-working class in dull coloured clothing. She cursed at not having chosen something else to wear as the men stopped and gathered around her.

They began to pester her and at one point try to touch her shoulder, which she angrily slapped away with a strong flick of her hand and leaving the man clutching his wrist in pain. What she hadn't expected though, was the man suddenly lashing out at her, she vaguely saw it in time as she flinched back but he clasped onto her hood and pulled it off. Her white hair she had tried to hide cascaded down her shoulder from the ponytail she had styled with her hair.

'Oh, looks like a snow fairy joined us,' one of the men smirked in a mocking tone as he advanced towards her with his hand held out. Elena predicted his intention and instantly ducked under the outstretched hand and threw her fist into his abdomen. Luckily for him, she didn't use her left hand like she had wanted to and watched him fall onto the ground clutching his stomach groaning through the pain.

His friends stood back for a moment; their faces were clearly etched with unease as Elena satisfyingly turned back to the window.

'You'll pay for that bitch,' one of the men hissed suddenly as she felt a hand grip the collar of her coat and roughly pulled her out of her seat. Elena felt her toes barely brush against the ground as he held her too close to his face. She winced at the foulness of his breath and gagged.

'Don't cha use toothpaste,' she said in her heavy British slang as the man's eyes flared dangerously but she wasn't intimidated. She had seen scarier glares than that in her lifetime. Elena took the man's hesitant fury to her advantage and slammed her knee into his tender parts. The man shrieked like a girl and fell to the ground nursing his saw parts as Elena tugged the collar loosely around her neck.

She prepared herself as the last of the group of men tried to throw a punch. Elena saw the punch coming and dodged out of the way, only to have another hand come past her ear and stop the man's advance. Elena was shocked by the presence of the other as she glanced up and stared to the calm yet smirking face of a tall young man with curly brown hair and thick circular lenses covering his eyes.

'You never stop surprising me, shojo,' a familiar yet unfamiliar voice cracked with humor as his smirk grew wider. The name he gave her made her instantly think of another.

'Tyki?'

The man just raised his eyebrows as he continued to stare mildly at the man that had tried to hit her, with little response to the name.

'Hitting a fine girl, is rude you know,' the man said in a leveled voice before the man retreated his fist from his grip and urged his friends into the next carriage. When they left, Elena let out a low grumble.

'I didn't need ya help, hot shot,' she growled as the man behind her chuckled in a deep voice.

'So you say,' he said moving the cigarette he had in to the other corner of his mouth before Elena frowned at him and gave him a good whack in the ankle. The man winced as she satisfying found out he wasn't using that cunning ability of his to 'chose'.

'You deserved it from last time,' Elena snickered returning to her more polite self as the man just rolled his dark eyes, much different from the golden colour she would normally see them in.

'Hey, Tyki, isn't that the card shark from last time?' a voice called from behind Tyki as a big man with straight hair stood up to gaze at her with curiosity.

'Yeah, looks like it,' the other replied turning in his seat with a boy about ten or twelve glancing over the top of his chair. Elena smiled queasily as she remembered the first time she had met Tyki and his 'white' companions when they tried to cheat poor Alystar Krory out of his clothes and whatever else he had.

'Long time no see, I suppose your not looking for a rematch?' she asked slyly as the man waved off the offer with uneasy expressions, they seemed fully aware that they may lose everything to her again.

'You've got some slang there, shojo, you should use it more often,' Tyki said as he sat back with his friends while Elena sat across from them. She didn't like him saying that but she shrugged it off with a bored expression.

'Don't feel like to,' she simply said as she watched his friends gaze curiously between them.

….

_~Tyki~_

He could feel the curious stares of his friends behind him as Elena casually looked away but he could clearly tell that she didn't know what to say if they asked anything.

'Say Tyki, you seemed to gotten close to the card shark since the last time we saw you,' the man with the beanie said as Tyki sighed heavily when he heard the words finally being spoken.

'Sort of, Mumbo, Crash, Ease, this is Elena, I sometimes meet up with her during my other job,' Tyki said introducing them as Elena smiled politely as Mumbo nudged him.

'Not bad the girl since the last time we saw her,' he whispered in Tyki's ear as Tyki nudged his friend slightly annoyed and flustered by his words. Elena seemed to catch his unease and giggled under her breath that only he had managed to catch.

'Hmm, I wonder if it's too late to say sorry about before in that game of poker,' Elena murmured in a low voice as Crash laughed and slapped his knee.

'Hey, don't worry about it, besides we did kinda deserved it ya know,' Mumbo replied as Tyki saw her smile soften and his heart along with it.

'So how things been going?' Tyki couldn't help but ask as Elena was startled by his question before queasily looking away.

'I… kinda snuck out while no one was watching,' she explained as Tyki couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for it after all he and his family had caused the panic that led to her current situation.

'Well I don't see what's bothering you, shojo,' Tyki said leaning back casually as she stared back, her silver eyes glinting with the setting sun reflecting deep within the depths of her eyes. He knew she wanted to say that he should know and that it was his entire fault as Tyki slightly nodded as if he understood.

'Hey, Elena, why don't ya join us, I think Ease could use the company in the kitchen,' Mumbo offered though Tyki knew that it would be a bad idea if what he was thinking was correct about Elena's situation.

'Hey do you mind Ease?' Crash asked the blond headed boy who nodded enthusiastically.

'I don't mind at all, please miss…' Tyki watched Elena's eyes widen but was unsure if she was either happy or worried about the offer. She surprised him by shrugging her shoulders.

'I don't see why not,' she replied with a wistful shrug as Ease's eyes glimmered in happiness. Tyki didn't mind as long as it didn't bring trouble to his friends because, after all, Elena was a parasitic type with her innocence and akuma might be drawn to her presence.

….

_~Elena~_

She had found it hard to refuse the little boy's request as she painfully agreed, Elena knew she was in deep trouble when she got back to headquarters but if that meant she could spend a little time with Tyki and his friends, the risk was worth it.

They had arrived at the station the next day with several others getting off with them. Elena spied the men that harassed her yesterday and glared at them until they shrank away with unease.

'Stop glaring, shojo, and hurry up,' Elena turned away from the men and followed Tyki, Mumbo, Crash and Ease to a registration booth. She felt the blond boy's hand curl into her left hand and almost flinched, worrying that he may feel the difference but the boy didn't seem to notice.

'Good to see you guys back again this year,' a rough looking man replied as he looked up at the group from the book in front of him. Tyki nodded raggedly before the man's eyes fell onto Elena.

'Who's the girl?' the man asked he gestured for Elena to come forward. She hesitated but Ease pulled her up to the booth.

'She's a friend of Tyki's,' Ease explained for her, which she was slightly grateful for as she nodded. The man began to eye her funnily before she frowned at him and he coughed.

'Looks like you'll accompany young Ease with kitchen duty, does that sound about right?'

'Yep,' Elena replied with a shrug of her shoulders and moved away with Tyki's group. She had made sure to replace her hood over her head to avoid drawing unwanted attention as they made their way to one of the many cabins lining the side of a dusty road.

'And this is where we'll be staying for the next few weeks,' Crash declared before dumping his stuff onto his bed. Elena simply smiled by was really shuddering with unease. She was in really deep shit in she returned to headquarters.

….

**(I'm going through a small time skip here)**

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki couldn't shake the feeling of jealousy whenever one of the miners' stared at Elena whenever she was working in the kitchen. The official had, at first, complained that her presence would cause a distraction but they quickly changed their minds as her warm smile and politeness seemed to win them over.

She was standing behind the counter helping serving out food with the people in the kitchen; her white hair was pulled back in a low braid running down her back. Tyki couldn't help but chuckle at the small glint of hunger that danced in those silver eyes of hers. Elena had been forced to eat less than what she was suppose to eat but it wasn't like there was any akuma around for her to bother about.

The only threat that Tyki knew she faced was the other men in the facility; their lust for her was evident as he tried to stop himself from ripping their organs out. He wasn't just jealous, he was protective over what was clearly his and he wasn't going to let Elena belong to anyone but him.

'Morning Tyki,' she broke into his thoughts as he blinked at the food she placed on his plate. Behind him, some of the men were grumbling with envy because she would always say his name whenever he came up to get his food.

'You looking good today, Elena,' Tyki replied as Elena giggled before cocking her head to the side.

'You might want to move on,' she reminded him in a low voice as he quietly hurried out of the line and over to Mumbo, Crash and Ease. Crash and Mumbo were elbowing each other as they stared at Tyki with a matching pair of silly grins.

'What are you two up to?' Tyki couldn't help but ask as his friends chuckled between them before they felt like sharing.

'You've got a thing for Elena, don't ya Tyki,' Tyki ruffled his already messy bed head with irritation. His friend's just laughed harder.

'Come on, you seem to get all tense and shit whenever other dude's talking to her,' Crash insisted as Tyki glared at him as if he wanted to have the conversation elsewhere instead of the mess hall.

'I'm concerned as a friend, is that such a bad idea,' Tyki grumbled under his breath trying his best to hide his true feeling but his friends had clearly seen through his guise.

'You're tight, man, she totally likes you, that's probably the reason she hasn't noticed the lovey-dovey stares the rat bags give her,' Mumbo seemed to add before he and Crash burst into a hard fit of laughter. Tyki groaned into his hand hiding his face from his friends. His covered face hid the smirk that plastered firmly on his lips… his friends had no idea how deep their relationship was.

….

**Author's note**

**This chapter is clearly asking for trouble, mostly on Elena's behalf than Tyki's but oh well… let the fun begin…**

**Oh and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

_~Someone's POV~_

I stared around the cafeteria hoping to see Elena there like usually hoeing down on a mountain of food. But she was nowhere to be found; I became concerned as I rushed to check her room.

Her room was empty and her bed was neatly made as I closed her door and wondered around the corridors. I came to the training room where Kanda was busy with his training, his eyes blindfolded by a piece of cloth.

'What do you want Lenalee?' he asked me suddenly as I stiffen nervously. I hadn't made a ruckus when I entered the room because I wasn't sure whether or not he was meditating or training. He slid his katana back into its sheath and pulled off the blindfold, staring at me with his cobalt eyes.

'I was wondering if you've seen Elena around,' I asked but my knees were slightly shaking, it always happened whenever he stared at me like that.

'How the hell would I know where that beansprout is?' He grunted before putting back on his blindfold. I heard him sigh heavily as he pulled out his sword again.

'Check the library, she might be visiting the baka usagi,' Kanda suggested in a friendly tone and quickly thanked him, his response… well let's just say it is his favorite one syllable word.

I rushed towards the library and as I was about to enter the library, the door opened and I collided with a redhead whose books scattered everywhere.

'I'm so sorry Lavi,' I said quickly helping him gather the books before he gave me a funnily.

'What's the matter Lenalee? Looks like you've lost something,'

'I have actually,' I painfully admitted, my eyes began to sting. 'I can't find Elena anywhere, she wasn't at the cafeteria or the training room so I was hoping she'd be here.'

My heart sank as Lavi's single emerald eye glanced around the room with a clean sweep.

'Well I've been in here since the early hours of the morning, she might be visiting Komui to convince him to let us go on missions again,' Lavi said before he hurried back inside and came out quickly just as I was about to leave.

'Let's go together then,' I knew he was trying to cheer me up as he wrapped a comfortable arm around my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He was right, Elena had seemed rather irritated ever since all of us had been to confine to headquarters. Even to the point that she had a temper as short as Kanda's.

We hurried to my brother's officer and before I had a chance to knock I heard a loud booming noise echo from within.

'The boat's what?' the voice sounded strange especially when it is coming from my usually go-happy brother as Lavi and I quickly burst into the room wondering what's going on.

My brother was standing in front of two guards with large bumps throbbing on the back of their heads.

'What happened with the boat?' I asked quietly as Komui coughed dryly as is trying to settle his anger.

'It seems like someone took the boat last night and knocked the guards out,' Komui said sternly eyeing the guards who held their heads down in shame. I couldn't help but pity them as I turned to my brother.

'That can wait, brother, I can't find Elena anywhere,' as soon as the words left my mouth, everything seemed to fall into place.

'The beansprout didn't…' Lavi said before both the guards, Lavi and I jumped at the sound of my brother slamming his fist against his desk. Komui's face was dangerous as everyone in the room fell silent.

'Brother...?' I asked wearily as his head snapped to look quickly at us.

'Lavi, Lenalee, you are to leave immediately and retrieve Elena Walker, understood,' Komui said as I shuddered, I had never seen him this angry since he had stopped the guinea pig experiments with innocence and innocent people. Lavi was quick to respond with a respectful salute that Komui's seriousness must have triggered as I nodded quickly before rushing out of my brother's office.

Oh, Elena, what have you gotten yourself into?

….

**(Back to the main plot, shall we…)**

….

_~Elena~ _

Elena leaned against the counter and sighed, the morning had been long and all that was left to do was wash the dirty dishes and begin preparation for lunch. This daily routine dully remaindered her of her days during Cross' training when he had left her a trail of debts to follow and repay.

Tyki had left with Mumbo and Crash moments ago but she still missed seeing him as she scraped the food scrapes into the bin before handing it to Ease on her right side. It had taken her a while to convince the cook that she was a klutz when it came to dishes but it was a lie just to get out of revealing her left arm.

It wasn't like she was still conscious of the reactions that people give her when they see it but that for once, it felt like she was one of people around her… being normal was one thing she didn't ever think she would experience but her time here had changed that.

The only problem was the growing guilty that was in her stomach because of her punishment once she went back to headquarters. She had been gone for almost two weeks now and they would clearly have noticed her absence by now, especially Lenalee.

'Elena, can you pass me the plate you're holding,' Elena blinked out of her thoughts and handed Ease the plate she had just scraped feeling herself blush. She hadn't intended to zone out and being caught by the kid was embarrassing.

'Sorry Ease,' she apologized with a smile and continued doing the task that Elena had basically given herself. Ease's eyes smiled in recognition, a small mask covered his mouth and nose. When Elena had asked Tyki why that was, her lover simply said that Ease had weak lungs since birth. She left sorry for the boy but also a small connection with him, he too was an orphan and adopted by the older men who dearly cared for him despite his flaw.

Elena smiled to herself, she was glad that there were others out there who accepted people's flaws but still didn't have enough courage to show her left arm. Thinking about it made her instinctively touch the arm that had caused most of her life's miseries.

'Is something wrong with your arm Elena?' she heard Ease ask as she flicked her head to face the boy sending her braid over her shoulder.

'No, Ease everything's fine,' Elena reassured him and continued scraping food from the plate, all while staring outside where the men were, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tyki. Elena was disappointed when she couldn't make his strong toned build amongst the miners.

When the lunch bell rang, the men filed in and lined up waiting to not only receive their food and water but also to glimpse the young maid giving it to them with a bright smile.

Elena continued the same routine as the men smiled and said 'hello' and 'thank you' all while her eyes scanned the line for Tyki. She finally spied him as he came through the door with Mumbo and Crash close behind him. Crash seemed to have said a joke and Tyki was laughing wholeheartedly at it. The way he laughed and talked to his friends almost convinced her that he was entirely him that he didn't belong to the Noah family.

Elena smiled, her heart ached slightly, if only this stupid war wasn't going on, she and Tyki could be together without having to worry about being on the opposite sides. Soon enough Tyki came up to her and her smile only widened.

'Hello again, Tyki,' she said dumping the food and his plate as he smiled in reply.

'You too, Elena,' he said before hurrying off before he made the same mistake he had done in the morning. Elena couldn't help but chuckle as she continued to serve the others.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki knew all good things would come to an end, when in the late afternoon; he was taking a stroll around the building and came across an akuma, seemingly waiting patiently for him.

'What are you doing here?' Tyki asked as he transformed into his Noah self and approached the akuma. The akuma bowed at his presence.

'I was just passing in the region when I came across two exorcists on a train heading here,' Tyki raised an eyebrow with interest at the mentioning of other exorcists. At least it hadn't noticed Elena's presence yet as he ruffled his hair with a low whistle.

'Is that so? Do you think they will stop here?' Tyki said as the akuma nodded with seriousness and Tyki lowered his voice quickly.

'The Earl sent you, didn't he?' Tyki couldn't help but ask as the akuma smirked and bowed again before leaving. Tyki sighed heavily and quickly reverted back to his 'human' self before any miners saw him. He knew Elena would soon have to head back to the order once the exorcists find out that she was here. Then a thought came into his mind as he continued back towards the mess hall where he knew that Elena and Ease were… If he played his cards right, he'd have one hell of a time playing keep things off the exorcists or in this case Elena.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena sat down at one of the empty tables in the mess hall eating the food in front of her despite it not being enough. She wasn't going to complain though as she quickly finished the rather bland meal and was eager to taste Jerry's cooking again.

Ease had gone off to take a nap before the preparation for dinner as she returned her dish to the sink before she felt a pair of hands grasp her waist and span her around.

Elena gazed up at Tyki who stared down without his thick circular glasses; his face held almost the same features as his Noah self but this time without the dark umber skin and golden eyes.

'Tyki, what're you doing here? You're not slacking off are…' Elena said in surprise but was shocked more when Tyki placed his lips firmly on hers. The kiss was passionate yet too quick to enjoy properly as he pulled but.

'You talk to much, besides let's sneak out of here for a bit,' Tyki said as he nuzzled into her ear and she felt a hot sensation rise in her cheeks. Elena pulled away from Tyki and stared at him with uncertainty.

'Hmm, but I don't think that's a good idea, Tyki,' she said in a low voice as the man frowned at her with confusion but it soon dissolved into a smirk. He gripped her hand firmly and quickly led her out of the mess hall, placing his finger on his lips.

They trekked passed several people unnoticed as they disappeared from the mining grounds. With Tyki leading the way, he led them along a rough looking path that traveled away from the mining grounds and towards a forest that rested on the outskirts. Despite the warmth of the day, the shade of the forest was cool and pleasant against her skin as she began to wonder why exactly Tyki had taken her here.

'What are you up to, Tyki?' she couldn't help but say as they arrived at well shelter place away from any prying eyes. Tyki drew her closer and held her waist securely as her began to run his tongue along her slender pale neck. Elena shivered at the sudden movement as Tyki chuckled at her reaction.

'I've wanted you ever since I saw you on the train, you know,' Tyki whispered in her ear, as Elena couldn't help but laugh. She shouldn't have expected any less of Tyki to come up with something like that.

'You really did surprise me this time,' Elena said leaning her face closer to his and gently nibbled on his lower lip. Tyki responded by prodding his tongue through the gap in her mouth and moved around coaxing her own tongue to join the dance. Elena didn't resist as they lasted a few more seconds before pulling away panted, her face slightly flushed.

'You look very cute right now,' Tyki chuckled as he caressed her neck with his lips and undid the top few buttons on her top.

'Something's up, is there not?' Elena said as they slowly slide to the ground, Tyki stared down at her; his eyes were the same mesmerizing glimmer even if they were a deep chestnut instead of the usual golden colour.

'You really need to learn not to ruin the moment,' Tyki murmured as Elena moaned underneath him as he nuzzled against her collarbone.

'You're right,' she said through her sigh as Tyki's hands slide further down her body.

**(I'll stop here but please use your imagination to continue on from here)**

….

_~Tyki~_

She had fallen asleep beside him on the grassy earth beneath them, he had replaced all her clothes but he could still see the paleness of her smooth pearl skin and elegant curves of her body. The expression on her face was angelic and peaceful with a small smile gracing her coral lips, looking at it made Tyki lean over and plant a kiss over the pentacle that marked the left side of her face.

He hated himself knowing that he wouldn't be here to see those lovely silver eyes that would make even the moon jealous open to greet him. He sighed as he glanced away and his eyes fell on a wild violet growing on the rotting remains of a tree truck that had fallen a long time ago. The purple colours was soft and gentle as he slowly got up and pluck one off the plant and went back over to the sleeping angel on the ground.

Tyki ran his fingers through her silky white strands and knitted the flower just above her ear as if it were a clip. The purple against silvery white seemed very perfect as he smiled sadly and left her there.

It was a lonely walk back without the grip of her hand in his but he knew sooner or later her exorcist friends would find her there and take her back to the Order. Tyki regretted not telling about what the akuma had said to him but he hadn't wanted to ruin the small moment they had left together as he walked into the mess hall.

An air of confusion hung in the air as the miners wondered why the white headed girl wasn't there to give them their meal. He felt a small tug on his sleeve as he glanced down and saw Ease staring up at him.

'Tyki, have you seen Elena?' the boy asked his eyes were worried for his new friend he had made as Tyki sighed sadly and ruffled her hair.

'She had to return home, so I walked her to the station,' It was a lie but a perfect one to hide their little secret, it seemed they were coming out more often than he wanted to admit but the blond boy nodded his head as if in understanding.

'I hope we see her again,' he said as Tyki nodded but didn't say anything, he would definitely see her again no matter the cost.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena woke to the lulling breeze rustling through the trees, earth beside her was empty and a sense of déjà vu washed over her as she sat up. She looked around the clearing in confusion and anger at having been left behind in the fading light of the forest. Tyki was still Tyki as she stood up and brushed the grass off her coat wondering vaguely when her clothes were put back on… probably another courtesy from Tyki no doubt.

A noise of someone moving through the forest drew her attention from her thoughts as she immediately moved into a defensive position. Her left eye wasn't activating but that doesn't always mean that the stranger didn't mean any harm to her as she came to the conclusion that there were in fact two strangers.

'This isn't good, it's almost as if Komui asked us to find Cross,' a voice complained as Elena relaxed slightly as she recognized the voice of the annoying redhead.

'Oh Lavi, just bare with it until we find her,' another voice moaned aloud, it was feminine and sounded like she was at odds with Lavi… Lenalee. Elena felt herself suddenly feel nervous, she knew that they would be happy to see her but also would be anger because she hadn't bothered waiting for a little longer before Komui had let them back on missions.

Elena stepped back but her heel knocked against a tree root sticking out of the ground and fell with a gasp of shock onto the ground. She cursed at her clumsiness as Lavi and Lenalee rushed to her location and saw her on the ground.

'Hi?' Elena said as she quickly got to her feet not knowing what to do until Lenalee rushed up to her and slapped her across the face. Elena held the side of her face that began to sting like hell as she glanced at her friend's tears streaked face.

'You're an idiot, you know that Elena, how could you do that to us?' Elena hesitated before placing her hands on Lenalee's shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

'I'm sorry Lenalee, but I feel much better now, believe me,' she said as she comforted her friend. Lavi's single eye eyed her with curiosity.

'You really do feel better,' he said as he walked up, Elena had a slight fear that he was also going to slap her across the face but instead felt his fingers touch something that seemed to be holding up some of her hair. Elena pulled away and fingered it feeling the soft velvety texture and stiff stem of whatever it was.

'It suits you Elena,' Lavi said with a perky grin that made her bonk him on the head before he could say anything else.

'Why'd the heck did you do that?' Lavi shouted in pain as Elena smirked at him and held up her left hand.

'Be thankful I didn't use this,' she said as Lenalee wiped her eyes and laughed gladly at having her friends around her again. Then Elena suddenly saw her friend's face stiffen and turn serious.

'Brother's going to punish you once you get back, you know,' Lenalee said as Elena nodded with a heavy sigh. They had begun to travel back to the station as Elena realized that Tyki must have known that this would happen sooner or later.

'That was weighing heavily on my conscious this whole time,' she said pushing those thoughts out of her head.

….

**Author's Note**

**Yay, another chapter and things are beginning to get interesting, well I should know, I'm writing this…**

**Please continue your reviews and any options you think might happen… **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

_~Elena~_

The anxiety rose in her chest the closer the boat drifted to the docks. Lavi was at the oars driving the boat forward while Lenalee tried to comfort Elena though Elena knew she was just as angry as her brother will be when she met him. They were all quiet, not daring to break the silence of lapping water and the sloshing movements of the oar.

There was nothing to say between them because it seemed like they were scared to voice them aloud. Elena saw the dock appear as the boat closed in on it. Soon enough, the boat bumped against the side causing Elena and Lenalee to jolt out of their daze they had taken to during their journey.

Elena heard the whispers around her as she walked with Lavi and Lenalee protectively standing on each side of her. Elena couldn't help but read the negative vibes that hung in the air like a stagnant fog refusing to leave. She wasn't so bothered about the punishment but she had no idea that her action would have this sort of consequence.

After several agonizing minutes walking amongst the hostile stares, they reached Komui's door and a sudden dread made Elena pause… There was a threatening presence waiting on the other side of that door that made her shudder more than in the presence of the Millennium Earl or a Noah. She actually would have preferred to face them anytime now instead of what lay beyond the door.

Lenalee stepped forward and lightly tapped on the door, in an instant the door swung open and Elena stepped into the room with Lenalee and Lavi trying to follow her in but had the door slammed in their face.

Elena sighed to slow down the rush pace of her beating heart as several pairs of eyes fell on her. Two of them belonged to Komui and Reever but the other two were strange to her. There were two new strangers in the room; one sitting on the couch the other was standing obediently behind him.

The one standing was older than her by a few years with long blond hair braid in a braid trailing down his back. His uniform was neatly crisp and completely foreign to her because she had never seen the uniform worn in headquarters before. The one sitting down was a much older man with dark hair slicked back and narrow eyes that seemed to have been cut from a snake and added to his face. His overall appearance was frightening and Elena was tempted to bolt out the room right then and now.

'I'm glad you could finally join us, Miss Walker,' the man on the couch said in a smooth yet menacing voice as Elena nodded slowly not sure to take offense to the man's words.

'Elena, please sit down…' Komui offered in a tone she had not expected, he seemed to be very worried about her instead of being pissed like she had anticipated. Despite this Elena took her seat beside yet a good distance from the thin-lipped man staring at her with strange eyes.

'I'm sure your aware of your situation, you disappeared from headquarters despite being ordered not to leave until I deemed it safe to continue our duty,' Komui said as Elena nodded defiantly. The man beside her seemed to sigh in a lazy way that made the guilt rises in her chest again.

'And have not contacted the Order for two weeks, you've got anything to say about it?' The man beside her spoke up as she dared to eye him suspiciously. The tone of voice held a strong sense of accusation like Elena had done something wrong, which she had clearly done.

'Who are you to ask?' Elena said stiffly as the younger man fixed her with a death stare as if daring her to say that again. She met him unmoved by the strong threat that was held in his dull eyes that reminded her of a loyal guard dog willing to do anything for its master's praise.

'YOU are speaking to Inspector Malcolm C Rouvelier, coming direct from Central to deal with your disobedience,' Elena rolled her eyes and casually leaned against the armrest eyeing the older boy.

'Talking about disobedience, isn't there someone else you should be concerned about?' Elena challenged him, she watched the younger man flinch with slight hesitation.

'Clever comeback, Miss Walker, but we'll deal with your master later, but let's focus on you instead,' Rouvelier said in a leveled voice as he straightened his back, Elena felt the threatening presence she had felt outside emanate from him and came to a bad conclusion that she was definitely in for it.

'As of today, my assistant, Howard Link, will be supervising your every moment,' Rouvelier continued, he seemed to enjoy the drainage of colour from the already pale face in front of him. Elena had never felt so powerless in her life… unless she thought about that time… but she didn't want to bring up unpleasant thoughts to mix in with her already dreary mind.

She stared up at the blond boy who was named Howard Link. It was a stupid name and it made her wonder where his parents went wrong in choosing such a name for this man.

'How… is that going to work? I'm clearly a girl and he is a boy,' Elena asked mockingly as Rouvelier caught the tone and frowned at her. The frown almost made her jump out of her skin in fear.

'He won't follow you everywhere but will accompany you on missions and be a… companion while you are stationed at headquarters,' Rouvelier said keeping that frown in place so that Elena could force out a protest.

'Thank you, Inspector, can I speak with Elena briefly alone?' Komui spoke up as the man stood up and walked out of the room with Elena's new 'bodyguard' following close behind. This Howard Link definitely did remind her of a loyal guard dog.

When Komui was sure that the man was out of earshot he loosened slightly and sank into his chair keeping his focus on the white haired exorcist in front of him.

'This supervision wasn't my idea, Elena, but it was either that or you would have been taken to Central,' Komui explained as his voice staggered over 'Central'. Elena was convinced to go there wasn't the best thing as she nodded and stood up to get out of the room. When she exited out of the room, she hadn't expected Howard Link to be waiting for her?

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki was lazily relaxing in one of the benches that lay in his brother's large garden courtyard. The air was heavy with the scent of roses and jasmine as he stared in a trance at the water flowing from the fountain.

'Uncle Tyki,' a complaining voice broke into his thoughts as Tyki blinked and stared at a girl with spiky purple hair pulled out of her face by and pink headband.

'Ah Road, where's Sheril, he asked for me before when I got back,' Tyki said quickly as he stood up from the chair and followed bubbling young girl to where her father was sitting beside another man with dark curly hair and a neat stubble of hair on his chin. He was wearing a dark suit with golden buttons and a white dress shirt underneath his vest.

'Hiya, Tyki-pon,' the man beside Sheril greeted him with a brisk wave of his gloved white hand as Tyki shuddered at the dreaded nickname of his as he took his seat beside him.

'I do wish you would stop calling me that, Lord Millennium,' Tyki sighed but couldn't hide his irritation that rose deep in his throat. The Earl chuckled as a maid served them tea and biscuits. Road giggled and jumped into the lap of her father who held her quite protectively.

'What took you so long dear brother? Out with those 'friends' of yours,' Sheril said as Tyki ignored the mocking tone in his brother's voice and rolled his eyes. The maid was going around pouring out the dark caramel liquid into the teacups before them. The Earl murmured a quick thanks to the maid before ushering her away and reaching for the saucer of cubed sugar.

'I'm sure you're aware of our little sabotage we put on for the Order,' the Earl said plopping sugar into his cup. Road and Sheril nodded slowly as they continued to watch the Earl curiously at the amount of sugar cubes he was putting in.

'When we killed the finders? Quite clearly, milord,' Tyki said as he took as sip of the hot tea and savored the citrus flavor that held a sweet taste in his mouth.

'Seems like 'they've' finally acted,' Tyki leaned forward, he was intrigued just like Sheril and Road were on what the Earl was getting out as the man finally put down the tongs and stirred his tea.

'Daddy, he put a lot of…' Road tried to whisper to Sheril but the man hushed her quickly as the Earl slurped it all down in one gulp. The Noah (**in human form**) all stared quite disgusted by what they had witnessed.

'Who's 'they', milord?' Sheril asked further his curiosity evident in his voice. The just smirked at him and placed the teacup back down. Tyki wasn't certain about what the Earl had in mind… no one knew except maybe Wisely. Thinking about the turban headed Noah made Tyki shiver.

'The Black Order is just a front cover, underneath there are other levels that include an intelligence network known as Central then the cowardly Vatican but there is little threat from there,' The Earl explained there was a mocking tone in his voice that suggested that it wasn't even half of what he wanted to say.

'Are these 'others' a threat Lord Millennie?' Road asked as she picked up her cup of tea and sipped it with a thoughtful frown creased her forehead. Tyki couldn't help but snicker.

'Try not to frown to long Road, or you'll get wrinkles,' Tyki couldn't help but tease as he narrowly dodged a plate of biscuits and a hot cup of tea. His brother, Sheril was fuming at him for suggesting such a thing as the Earl clapped his hands for them to quiet down.

'Now, now, there's no need to fight amongst ourselves… No they are not the threat I was hinting at… there is another that is using everything around them to hide themselves,' the Earl said with Road frozen in the air ready to throw the teapot at Tyki. She quickly placed it down and thought about it.

'Are you talking about 'it', Millennie?' Road said in a low cautious voice that made Tyki shudder, it seemed like Road was aware of where the Earl was going in this conversation.

'Earl?' Tyki asked with his eyebrow slightly raised but the man just shook his head with a broad smile on his face as he placed his finger on his lips.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena didn't like this Howard Link at all; the way he would always follow her around the Order. He was silent but she could always tell he was there watching and observing, bringing out a notebook from time to time and scribbling something down.

Despite this, he continued to do his 'duty' while she tried to get her daily routine in place along with ignoring the irritable whispers that the staff though she wouldn't hear.

'I heard she went off on her own without orders…'

'She's always been an odd person from the start…'

It didn't bother though; she was use to it as she made her way to the cafeteria with Link close to her heels like a dog… he was really starting to remind her of a dog. A cheerful face greeted her as she stepped into the cafeteria.

'Elena over here,' Lenalee called to her as Elena went over to where Lenalee was sitting with Lavi and Kanda. Kanda as usual, was ignoring the other exorcists sitting around him and clearly showed his disapproval of it through the slight frown forever knitting his eyebrows.

'Morning everyone,' Elena said as cheerful as she could because of the silent presence taking in every one of her movements. Lavi smirked slightly as he stared at Link that stood behind her.

'I see two-spots hasn't let you out of his sight,' Lavi was sniggering at the nickname he had given Howard Link because of the two spots decorating his forehead. Elena hadn't been curious enough to ask why they were there and if she did, she doubted she would get an answer from him.

'Two-spots! My name is Howard Link, for god's sake, get it right,' Link seethed as he threw a glare at the redhead who shrank behind Lenalee as if asking for protection. Elena just sighed helplessly.

'Link, if you want him to stop you have to be more forceful,' Elena said to him in a low tone as she threw a look over her shoulder. Link didn't say anything but glanced down at the book he was holding and said nothing more.

'Anyhow, beansprout how's life with two-spots?' That received two death stares from the individuals standing in front of Lavi as he once again tried to hide behind Lenalee.

'It's Elena you stupid rabbit,' Elena hissed at him as Link decided to ignore him and continue reading the book. Lavi stepped back in alarm as Elena came towards him hoping to land a hit with her raised left arm but Lenalee finally intervened.

'Calm down, Elena there's no need to be violent… and Lavi please refrain from calling people names, you only ask for it,' Lenalee said as she held back Elena and stared at Lavi over her shoulder. Lavi gave her a queasy smile that seemed to tell her that no matter what she said, he would continue his bad habit.

'Calm down beansprout, you're wrecking my meal,' a gruff voice spoke up suddenly as Kanda put down his chopsticks and shrugged off Elena's stare.

'ELENA, Bakanda, get it right,' Elena demanded as she turned her attention fully to the samurai with long dark hair swept up into a high ponytail. Kanda glared back at her with a smirk on his lips.

'And why should I?' he challenged her as Lenalee and Lavi nervously stood back from the pair glaring at each other from either sides of the table.

'Ah, two-spots, you might want to move back,' Lavi said cautiously as everyone began to feel the tension in the room rise enough that you could almost see spark flying between the pair in the middle of it all. Link looked up casually from his book as if he hadn't noticed.

'And why must I, Junior?' Link asked as Lavi just pointed to the scene accumulate beside the lieutenant. Link just glanced and finally made a smart move to get the hell away from Kanda and Elena.

'Because a guy wearing his hair like a girl, shouldn't really be saying anything,' Elena flared at him as Kanda's glared narrowed dangerously.

'Says the girl who use to cross-dress,'

That seemed to make the white haired girl snap as the cloak of her innocence flared from her back. Kanda reacted by drawing the katana sitting comfortably on his waist before they clashed in a sudden explosion.

'Does this happen often?' Link asked unwary of the chaos happening in front of him as Lenalee and Lavi nodded at them as the cafeteria began to get destroyed in front of them.

'And what's he saying about her being a cross-dresser?'

….

**Author's note:**

**Hmm… This is a little shorter in than some of my first few chaps but oh well… we're getting somewhere at least.**

**Please continue to review and send any comments…**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

_~Someone's POV~_

'Ch…'

'…i.e.…'

'…ff,"

'…'

'I heard Lenalee's getting married,'

With my trusty drill in hand I rose from my restful nap with little need for anything else to be said.

'Morning, Chief,' a voice said as I glanced around my rather messy office, Reever, one of my trustee scientist stood before me, his eyes deprived of sleep and a slight anger twitch in his eye. I coughed and placed the drill down on my desk.

'Morning, Reever, where's my coffee?' I asked him as his anger became more evident in his eyes.

'Lenalee will get that later but to get into the point, I think you should send Kanda and Elena out on a mission soon,' I blinked at him in confusion before he handed me several more papers to add to my already mountain of paperwork.

'No more Reever, you're working me to death,'

'And whose fault is it for falling asleep when he needs to be doing work?' Reever was grumbling now as I glanced at the new paperwork with a little bit of guilt. That was till my eyes fell on a long line of numbers… I felt my jaw hit my desk.

'This is…'

'Yes, Elena and Kanda caused some massive damage in the cafeteria a while ago, they're both restless Komui,' I groaned aloud just as the telephone beside me rang. It had been three long weeks since a phone rang from the finders but that was because of the little stunt the Earl had pulled off by killing off our intelligence unit.

'Hello, head supervisor here,' I trilled excitingly, I couldn't contain the excitement of hearing the phone ring again even though I was wondering about the several small units of finders I had sent out a few days ago.

'Supervisor, there suspected innocence in Ayr, south-west of Scotland,' the finder on the other end said through hasty speech. I dropped my grin as my glasses slowly slid down the bridge of my nose.

'Has it been confirmed?' I asked curiously the finder sounded out of breath and in some sort of panic. I began to worry.

'Rumours of several ships going missing have been made here, so we went to investigate and…' that was it as the call ended in static and a sharp continuing tone that made me hold it from my ear before I hung up on my end.

'What was that Chief?' Reever asked me as I slowly leaned back in my seat thinking through the situation before I took another glance at the damage bill.

'Reever, call Elena and Kanda into my office, now,' I said as Reever gave me a curious look before running off to follow my orders. I was beginning to feel uneasy again… innocence and the strange behavior of the finder could only result in one thing…

Akuma!

….

_~Elena~_

Elena was almost skipping with joy when she heard that Reever had called her to Komui's office but the happiness was short lived when she found out Kanda was also called. Link, like usual, was following close behind her as she made her way through the science department and to Komui's office door.

She opened the door and walked to the couch where Kanda was already sitting as she took her seat and waited for the head supervisor to speak.

'There has been strange activities happening in a town south-west of Scotland, Ayr,' Komui said pulling down a map that showed the layout of Scotland. Elena stared at the area where he was pointing and saw that the mission would take them to a port side town.

'What kind of strange activities, Komui?' Elena asked she glanced up at the guard who was station to watch her. She had a dreaded feeling that he would also be following her on this and any future missions.

'I had been contacted by a finder I had sent out several days ago, but we were broken off while he was explaining but that is still enough to say that exorcists are needed,' Komui said as she nodded gravely, there seemed to be one thing that came to her mind and that was akuma. If akuma were appearing there, then it was possible that innocence may be in the surrounding area, if not, then they would still destroy the akuma nonetheless.

'Why do I have to team up with beansprout again?' Kanda complained with a grunt of dissatisfaction as Elena mildly agreed with him. Komui stared at them with that mischievous grin of his as he eyed both of them in turn.

'You two need to learn to work together if we are to avoid future damage bills because of your dislike of each other,' Komui replied as Elena moaned aloud and Kanda just 'che' under his breath.

(Passing time…)

It took them several long agonizing days to reach the port town of Ayr. It might have been quicker if Elena and Kanda hadn't gotten into so many pointless bickering that gave even Link a headache.

'How many times must you fight?' Link would openly complain about their incompetence in getting into fights over such trivial things. In response to this, Elena would just glare at him while Kanda threatened him with mugen.

'Shut up, Rouvelier's dog,' Kanda hissed at him before pulling mugen away and stormed off towards the inn several houses down the street from them. Elena poked her tongue out at him just to try and feel better since Kanda had won the last argument much to her dismay. Then let out a heavy sigh.

'At least he can get angry at someone else,' she smirked at Link who just stared back with his blank serious expression that just gave her the shivers. Elena still hadn't gotten use to his presence but was slowly learning to ignore him.

'According to Komui, the finder was in this town when he last contacted him, however there is no information about where he was at the time if the call,' Link said glancing down at the one page briefing that was barely a paragraph but it was enough to know something wasn't write.

'What? Are you disappointed about our job already?' Elena couldn't help but tease him as they made their way to the inn down the street. Link just glared at her before continuing on, ignoring her attempts to mock him.

'That depends on the contrary,' Link simply said as Elena paused completely baffled about what the young man had said as she blinked for a moment and rushed up to him before he entered the inn.

'What do mean, 'on the contrary'?' Elena began to pester him as Link just sighed hopelessly like she was a lost cause. She frowned at him and closed her mouth, whatever he had meant, she'd find out soon enough.

'And you call yourself an exorcist, beansprout,' Kanda broke into her thoughts as she stared at him; angry that he had used that most despised nickname he had given her.

'Well you're not much of one, Bakanda,' Elena hissed back before Link stepped in to stop the fighting.

'As nice as this is, we should continue our investigation and get this over with,' Elena and Kanda both glared at the lieutenant before growling that it was the others fault. Link just muttered something under his breath low enough so that the two exorcists in front of him couldn't catch it.

'Beansprout, go and talk to some people about any strange things occurring, I'm patrolling the town for akuma,' Kanda ordered before heading out of the inn with Elena close on his heels.

'My name is Elena, Bakanda and who put you in charge?' Elena flared back at him as Link followed silently behind before Kanda glared back causing Elena to pause nervously.

'Since you're such I blabbermouth, you should do the talking,' he said as Elena opened her mouth but closed it again and frowned at him. The man smirked in victory and turned on his heel causing his dark hair to swing from its bindings on top of his head.

'Idiot,' Elena hissed under her breath as she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned to see Link pointing down towards the port and they headed that way without her protesting much. The further she was away from Kanda, the better and Link seemed to be thinking the same thing.

….

_~Tyki~ _

Tyki hissed with impatience as he stared over the lapping waters of the vast ocean. He was sitting casually on the shoulder of a level three akuma as they searched the coast for any sign of the finder that had given them the slip several days ago.

The persistent fool had jumped overboard from the boat he was on and leapt into the mercy of the sea and lost him almost immediately. Tyki was a patient person after all but this was testing it to the limit as he sighed heavily and stood up.

'Guess his gone with the tide,' Tyki smirked at his own words as he glanced at the horizon, akuma had sighted a mysterious ship sailing around the outskirts of a port town and low and behold there were finders there also. He had hoped to catch one so that he could get some information that was limited from both the akuma and the Earl, which was rare.

'Shall we return to town, Noah-dono,' the akuma said in a low drone voice as Tyki didn't say anything and nodded. The akuma gained altitude and flew off back towards the city. Tyki relished the wind that whipped through his loose hair, in his Noah form he had always kept it back with a headband but this time he just left it, as is, much to Road's distress and tantrum.

They arrived back at port a few minutes later and Tyki jumped off and waved he akuma a swift goodbye before going into his 'human' form. He casually walked into the busy street bustling with people and sailors as they made their way to the boats that would get them to where they were going.

The town wasn't bad; the crisp salty breeze that was swept from the ocean was a refreshing change from the rose and jasmine scented garden of his brother, Sheril. He had stayed there for a few days before heading off towards a port town in Scotland where the Earl confirmed that the Order had decided to move again. Tyki didn't complain much, at least it was a change in pace over that last few weeks.

'Walker!' a voice cried just barely over the crowd as Tyki paused and turned in the direction of the sound. Several metres away, he saw a figure graced with white hair flowing over her shoulders. She was sitting down at one of the many food stands that lined the main street; she glanced up with a mild frown as a man with blonde hair walked over to her. Tyki noticed that he was in some sort of uniform hidden under a light tan trench coat despite not even looking like a finder.

'What Link? I'm starving…' The girl complained as the man, whose back was turned to Tyki stood over her with his arms obviously crossed over his chest.

'You shouldn't wonder off like that, it's…'

'An abstraction to your duties… yeah, yeah I got it,' She moaned aloud before continuing to eat, not even caring if the man wanted to say more. Tyki felt curious, what duties were the man doing, especially with her. As went closer, but not too close as he leaned against the corner of a building that lead into an alleyway.

Suddenly the blond man looked up and met Tyki's eyes, suspicion was evident in the young man's narrow frown. Tyki just smirked at him before wondering off into the alleyway with a shrug of his shoulders.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena looked up from the local cuisine she was eating as she realized that Link was no longer staring at her. She glanced up her spoon full of food hovering just above her bowl as she eyed Link in confusion.

'What's up Link?' she asked curiously as he didn't respond immediately and slowly seemed to be processing things.

'I think there might be akuma around,' Link said sternly as Elena almost choked on the spoonful of food in her mouth. Laughter was rising fast in her throat she leaned over her bowl and spat everything out, including her humor.

'Stupid Link, if there was any akuma near here, I would have sensed them,' Elena said wiping her mouth with a napkin before continuing to eat. Link seemed to glare at her, probably because she had called him stupid.

'… It doesn't matter now,' Link grizzled as Elena quickly finished her dish and stood up, thanking the storeowner for the meal.

'There's still no mean to be secretive, Link,' Elena teased him as they made they way closer to the ocean, the breeze was carrying its saltiness and the crowing of seagulls swooping above their heads gave it away.

'Let's just get this over with,' Link said in a low voice as Elena laughed and rushed ahead into the crowd that began to gather.

'Walker, stop this nonsense this instant,' she heard Link call after her as she began to lose him in the crowd, Elena could barely hear him curse and he tried to follow her. She was beginning to join this mission as much as that it was easy to lose Link when he wasn't prepared for her sudden reactions but he was beginning to catch on. Elena had to admit annoyingly that Link was a quick learner, a little too quick and that meant it was only going to get harder for her to lose him.

Elena skidded to a halt as she noticed a commotion happening on one of the piers. A young man with ragged brown hair was dressed in simple fisherman clothes and thick heavy boots. He was surrounded by a couple of tough looking men who seemed to be looking for trouble.

'I'm telling you, I saw it,' the young man exclaimed aloud but not loud enough to draw an unwelcome attention that could come from this.

'It's nothing but heresy Jock, give it up and go back out there,' one of the older men seemed to demand as Elena stepped closer to listen to their conversation better.

'I said no, I don't want to end up like those people in the ship wreckage,' the younger man continued to complain until Elena caught a glint of something flashing in the sun and frowned as one of the men held a knife to the man's throat.

'I hate repeating myself Jock, remember you do need the income to keep that petty little on of yours after all,' Elena watched as the young man's lips quivered in fear and anger but he nodded and the knife was pulled away from his throat.

'Good lad, I expect something this afternoon,' the man said as he and the men beside him left Jock standing beside the small fishing boat. Elena stepped aside to let the men pass and walked up to him as the man began to load the boat with ropes and fishing line.

'That was harsh of them,'

'No kidding, they don't want to believe the stories that are circling around town and… hey who are you?' The man's last words stammered out in surprise as Elena made a grab for the ropes he just dropped before frowning and untangling the cords.

'My name's Elena Walker, sorry for scaring you,' she said with a smile that seemed to put the young fisherman at ease as he took the ropes back with a murmur of thanks.

'Jock Hagler,' he said swiftly before dumping the ropes on board, Elena nodded and eyed the boat with an expert eye.

'The boat's well kept, do you enough fishing?' She had to ask as Jock stared at her with curiosity before nodded with a recollected sigh.

'I use to but since the ships traveling along Firth of Clyde have ended up beginning destroyed, I felt anxious to even leave port now,' Jock said, Elena caught the sad tone in his voice and almost felt sorry for him.

'And ya boss won't listen, huh?' she said as she blinked when she noticed that she had switched back to her persona she used when she was working off debts for Cross. Jock looked at her with wide eyes and slowly nodded.

'So you did hear that?' Elena cocked her head sympathetically as the young fisherman and leaned on a stack of crates while Jock gathered some more tools from another.

'Kind of hard not to, beside I'll tag along with you,' she confirmed with another smile as the man blinked in profound confusion. He had not expected her to offer him help as he scratched the back of his head with a look of worry.

'I don't think that's wise, I wouldn't want to drag another innocent soul with me if whatever it was attacked the boat,' Elena politely covered her mouth to hide her smirk and shook her head.

'I'm an exorcist, and strange happenings such as this, is what I investigate. I also know my 'round a fishing boat,' she added the last part with a knowing wink as the man stared at her as if considering her cooperation. He turned slightly and fiddled around with some fishing nets before turning back to her.

'I suppose I could use the help,'

'There is also another exorcist with me but he's an asshole…' Elena couldn't help but added with a smirk.

'I heard that beansprout!'

Elena couldn't help but flinch as the girly-looking samurai stormed up to him and held the tip of mugen in her face. She casually pushed it out of the way with her left hand and placed her hands on her hips.

'ELENA, but I'll forgive you this time, I've found us a ride but in exchange we have to help,' Elena said as Kanda gave his infamous 'che' and left it at that. Several moments passed until Link showed up, his face was red with anger as Elena avoided the glare in his eyes.

….

_~Tyki~_

He was sitting back against a bunch of crates that seemed to have a good view of the pier the white haired exorcist was standing on. She was talking to a rough looking man several years older than her in fisherman clothes. The seemed to be having some sort of conversation till an angry samurai stormed up and interrupted them.

By the looks of things he wasn't happy, but that left Tyki to wonder if the man was ever happy from the way he snarled. Then the blond guy shouted out a single word…

'WALKER!'

Tyki couldn't help but smirk at how easily he had lost the girl in a crowd of a hundred people. It was entertaining to say the least but he knew by just looking at them, that the exorcists must have found a trail and were using the fisherman's boat to help them.

'Noah-dono, shall we attack them?' An akuma jittered behind him as Tyki stopped himself from groaning aloud. There were several akuma behind him; all were waiting eagerly to attack the exorcists But Tyki waved his hand as if rejecting the question.

'No not yet, let them think they have the advantage,' Tyki stood up and pulled a cigarette from his pocket, to his disappointment, it was his last one. He lit it anyway and inhaled the intoxicating smoke.

'Gather several groups of akuma, tell them to stay within distance but not too close, shojo can still detect you if you're within her cursed eyes reach,' Tyki ordered the akuma behind him as they disappeared to do his bidding. He turned on his heel and walked back to town wondering where he saw the last store selling his favorite tobacco.

….

**Author's Note:**

**Things are getting interesting even for me…**

**I had to do some research to complete this chapter though; Ayr is actually a town in Scotland just like Firth of Clyde is too (but that's a stretch of ocean). All I needed to do was add a random scenario and… tadah… I have a mission… I really do love this manga, so please support the actual series by Katsura Hoshino! **

**Please continue your reviewing; I always enjoy reading them especially after a bad day…**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

**OMG! **

**My tenth chapter, I'm so happy I'm dancing… you know one of those stupid little dances that have only your head and arms moving in time to some sort of music in your head… Anyhow (feeling the awkwardness of the situation) onto the story**

….

_~Elena~_

The boat swayed gently on the waves as Jock turned to boat towards the wide-open waters on the Firth of Clyde. According to the fisherman, ships have been disappearing and their remains washed ashore by the tides. He actually saw it happen and claimed that there was a type of ghost ship that haunted the waters since long ago.

'What's this story behind the ghost ship?' Elena called over as she tightened the rope on the deck before the fishing net was released into the water. Kanda wasn't doing anything to help because he just leaned against the side of the boat intentionally avoiding work.

Link did his bid to help but of the more theoretical kind… he went out of his way to learn the basics of controlling the boat and also was navigating the boats position, which impressed Elena though she wasn't going to admit it.

'Well, there was once an invasion by a fleet of Viking ships, they would ride up and down the Firth of Clyde and cause terror to the coastal towns,' Jock explained as he began to pull the net back up onto the boat. Elena lent a hand and easily hoisted up half of the waterlogged net much to Jock's surprise.

'Go on…' Elena insisted as they threw back the fish that were no good and Link changed the boats course. Jock nodded as he threw a good fish into one of the crates.

'That was till a navy crew from England came and assisted the townspeople and destroyed most of the Viking's ships till only one remained, this was, I could say, the mother ship of the fleet,' Jock said as Link suddenly turned to boat sharply making everyone, including Kanda stumble about for something to hold.

'Oi, idiot watch how you drive,' Kanda hissed at Link as he reached for mugen at his waist. Link just sniffed at him as if vaguely aware of the threat.

'I wish to see you try this then,' Link challenged him, which surprisingly silenced the samurai instantly as he just 'che' and walked into the cabin below. Elena rolled her eyes as she and Jock prepared the next net for release.

'This ship was believed to have held a treasure sacred to the Vikings and the Englishmen wanted it for themselves… no offence, Elena,' Jock said as he remembered that Elena had a British background.

'None taken,'

'So when the Navy was about to board, the Vikings retaliated and caused their boat to sink swearing to curse these waters for all eternity,' the fisherman's voice changed to a darker tone, which made Elena pause from hulling the net back and laugh queasily. There was silence between them as they loaded the good fish into the crates and threw the rest away.

'I must say, you're pretty good at this, ever been fishing before,' Jock asked as Elena nodded but ruefully.

'Yeah you can say that, but that was because I was forced to, my bloody Master accumulated debts beyond your imagination,' Jock looked at her to see if the white headed girl was being sarcastic but all he saw was dead seriousness in those silver eyes.

'Must have been scary,' he said quietly as they prepared to send the net out again.

'You have no idea,' and she wasn't kidding, despite that sweet smile placed firmly on her lips, her eyes seemed rather murderous. Jock glanced at the net entangled in his fingers as a way to distract him from the girl's confusing face.

'But you know what's confusing me, why did you tag along? You did say something about being exorcists but I don't see any connection,' Jock's question was valid and Elena acknowledged it with a nod as she leaned back and glanced up at the sky were dark clouds began to gather.

'In this world there are 109 pieces of a special god-like substance that grants powers to those chosen to wield it. As exorcists, we wield, search and find innocence while battling being from the darkness that threaten to destroy us,' Elena explained but just found herself repeating something that was literally drilled into her from day one. Jock nodded with mild confusion as they finally released the line into the salty water.

'So this god-like substance was probably the treasure the Vikings had?' Jock questioned as Elena just shrugged her shoulders as if she wasn't so sure.

'When we see the situation then we'll act upon it, though I don't know how Kanda can be of help… he can't swim in my opinion,' she replied with a smirk as a dark presence loomed over her shoulder.

'I didn't hear you beansprout… want to say that again?' A low menacing voice growled as Elena glanced over her shoulder unhindered by the murderous intent in the samurai's eyes.

'Oh just admit it,' Elena said as she straightened up and eyed Kanda who was still a good few inches taller than her.

'Dream on,' he hissed back as he drew mugen.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki felt slightly left out as the tall man with long dark hair suddenly lashed out at the white headed girl. He had positioned himself in the sky above using his ability to 'choose' to stand on the air itself. He hadn't bothered bring any akuma along with him since Elena would likely sense them because of that cursed eye of hers.

The clouds provided some cover though he was too far for them to actually see them, but with the chaos happening on the deck, they wouldn't notice him even if he were barely several metres above them.

'WALKER, KANDA, stop this foolishness right now or I'll knock the both of you off this boat,' a voice called from the wheel of the boat as Tyki spied the blond head that seemed to be following his love around a little too closely. The two on deck seemed to pause slightly before the fisherman called the white head over and they both hulled in the next catch.

Tyki would have stayed longer watching them if the smell of rain and the buffering of the wind wasn't this strong so he headed back to the horde of akuma keeping a good distance from the vessel.

'Noah-dono, what are they exorcists doing?' one of the akuma asked as Tyki perched himself on a level three's shoulder.

'Not much, their bickering amongst themselves but a storm tonight will make things interesting,' Tyki said as he stared at the distant horizon where dark sinister clouds began to drift towards them. Then Tyki frowned suddenly as he sensed a strange yet familiar feeling begin to bubble in his chest, he knew it was nearby, he just had to wait for it to show up and it wasn't going to take long.

….

_~Elena~_

The weather grew rough as the sun went down, the waves were so huge that they had to retreat into the control room. Kanda was there, grumbling at how horrible the weather was as Elena found herself staring out the bleary window. The rain was coming down hard, plastering the glass in a film of water as the waves crashed onto the deck.

Jock had taken control over the steering wheel much to the annoyance of Link as he drove the small fishing boat against the waves. A frown creased his brow as Elena realized that something was bothering the sailor.

'What's wrong Jock?' Elena asked as she sat by the window as far away as possible from Kanda. Since their last argument they hadn't seen eye to eye over the past few hours.

'This storm… it's too sudden, I don't know why I didn't pick it up before,' Jock replied in a low tone as he clutched the steering wheel even tighter than before. Elena didn't say anything else and turned back to the window… This storm was sudden; when they had left port there was nothing in sight except clear blue skies. She could tell something was off.

'There's nothing we can do, but wait till the storm passes,' Link said as he glanced up from his notebook as he began to be writing, what Elena found out was the events of the day. That would mean he'd include her attempts to give him the slip.

'I guess we have no choice,' Elena sighed and leaned back against the window, and stared out at the shadowy waves that loomed and crashed around them. Jock was doing a good job keep the boat steady as the storm progress, it made Elena think that this isn't the first time the young fisherman had experienced bad weather, which was good for them.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki was shuffling through a deck of cards as he stared out the window. The streets were being slowly filled with activity since last night's downpour that had caused him to treat back to Ayr. He had left one akuma out to watch over the exorcists while he had gone back. It wasn't because he was lazy, he was after all human, if not a 'super human' as Road would sometimes use when describing the family.

The night was rough because of the storm that had made Tyki retreat in the first place as his thoughts slowly wondered over the white haired exorcist. She would obviously be alright be he still wanted to see her and greet her but with that blond man and the samurai, it wasn't going to be easy.

A figure suddenly sat at his table causing him to jolt out of his thoughts and stared at the human who had joined him. Well what looked like a human but Tyki knew that it was the akuma he had left to watch over the exorcists.

'Sorry for startling you, Noah-dono,' it said with a stiff voice as Tyki leaned on his hands and nodded slowly.

'Go on,'

'The exorcists have returned to the docks, but something seems… odd,' the akuma reported, Tyki could tell it was having a hard time trying to describe what it had witnessed.

Tyki sent the akuma away with a wave of his hand before standing up and walking out of the inn and into the now busy streets. Women had their skirts hitched up to avoid getting them soiled while men in heavy trench coats passed by. Judging by the tension that seemed to surround them, Tyki guessed something was up and followed the crowd to the docks where people were gathered at one of the piers.

'It happened again,' a woman near him whispered, which perked Tyki's interest… What happened?

He made his way forward through the tight spaces in the crowd until he reached a place where he got a clear view of the dock. The first thing that caught his eye was the graceful white figure with something in her arms as she nimbly jumped out of the boat towards a small huddle of people.

Tyki frowned as he noticed that the humans all looked tattered and worn out, water still dripping from the water running off their clothes. It looked as if they had been caught outside in the storm all night.

'Elena, I got the doctor,' a voice called causing Tyki to turn and see the young fisherman from yesterday running back through the crowd with a stout looking man with small round glasses and a moustache. Elena looked up as the other exorcist and blond guy jumped off the boat and walked up behind her.

'Don't tell me they're our latest victims?' the doctor murmured as he knelt down beside one of the few people and checked the wounds that covered their bodies. Tyki seemed curious as to what the man was saying as Elena seemed as eager to find out as he was.

'What do you mean?'

'Since around last month, anytime a storm blew in a ship was mysteriously sunk, with little or no survivors,' the doctor quickly explained before turning to the people standing around and observing the scene in front of them.

'You five at the front, help me get these people to the clinic,' the doctor seemed to order those standing closest to the front, which Tyki had to be one of them as he stepped forward quickly and took the arm of a man and helped him up. Tyki wasn't one to help humans but if that meant that he could get closer to Elena then it was worth it.

'This way,' the doctor said as he quickly hurried back through the crowd, by this time a pair of police officers had arrived and began to disperse the crowd. He met eyes with Elena whose silver pools frowned slightly before a small smile twitched on her face.

'Walker, pay attention,' the blond man hissed as Elena rolled her eyes and hurried with the small bundle, which Tyki realized held a child. The white head hurried up to the blond man who eyed her before glaring back at him with narrow eyes. Tyki couldn't help but feel like the man was suspicious of him just as Tyki was of him.

They arrived at the clinic a few moments later and Tyki handed the man who was now unconscious to a nurse. She wheeled him away in a wheelchair to another room so that they could receive treatment.

'Excuse me sir, but I have a question,' a voice intruded Tyki's trance as he turned and stared at the young man slightly younger than him. The man's fringe was short exposing two dots on his forehead Tyki couldn't help but notice.

'Yeah, what do you want?' Tyki asked in a rough voice, the man needed no polite speech from him for all he cared. He caught a sight of Elena moaning into her hands as she noticed what was happening.

'You seem to be familiar with my charge, how so?' the man asked as Tyki began to wonder if he was being interrogated but had to strain himself from hitting the man. He had called Elena his 'charge'… what the heck was that suppose to mean? But then a thought came to mind and Tyki smirked with a bit of humor.

'Met the girl on the train one time, I'll warn you this… don't partake in a game of poker with her if you value your modesty,' Tyki said as he watched the man's face stretch out into some sort of shock, Tyki couldn't help but chuckle.

'Just happened to be passing through when I say the commotion,' Tyki continued as the man slowly nodded and moved away glaring over his shoulder. Elena seemed to be snickering as if she had overheard the conversation but Tyki doubted it.

He began wondering out of the clinic, he was disappointed that he couldn't hold her but at least the little time he spent near her had to be enough for now. As he left through the door, he could feel something glaring at him, the hatred that he could feel just made him chuckle… things were going to be interesting.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena had been surprised when she saw Tyki emerge from the crowd and followed them to the clinic to get the people treated for hypothermia and cuts and bruises. She hadn't expected any more surprises since finding a ship… or what remained of one as they were returning back to port after the storm had passed in the early hours of the morning.

They had come across the wreckage by chance as Elena was the first to spot some of the survivors clinging to pieces of driftwood. She had acted with her heart instead of her head and dived in to help get them on board. Her actions shocked Jock and even Link but Kanda just 'che' and called her a stupid beansprout.

From the amount of bodies scattered in the water that had been dyed in a pale red-violet, she had only managed to find and rescue four people alive, three adults and a child. She had found the child floating on a large board with a limp figure clinging to the side; the woman she had guessed was the mother of the child.

Elena was quite saddened and worried for them, their grief would be an easy target for the Earl and she knew what the consequences were. She did experience it first hand after all becoming one of the only fortunate souls to be spared the fate of a loved one that call back the dead.

She had feared that thought but once she saw Tyki emerge from the crowd it quickly disappeared and replaced by calmness that wrapped around her like a pair of warm arms, his arms. Elena had wanted him to do it there and then but with that wretched Link around that would simply be impossible not to mention dangerous especially if he found out Tyki's true nature.

Elena had to put up with him being near her but not near enough to touch, she longed for his embrace and those tender lips of his. But this was forbidden right now like it had always been since they had first met.

She had panicked when Link had gone up to question him after seeing them exchange glances while on the way to the clinic, something that Elena dared to do. Elena was embarrassed by it and hid it in her hands with a bothersome moan. She did not know what to expect but Link came back to her looking quite shocked and concerned causing her to snicker at him.

'How was it?' she had to ask as casually as she could as she hid her amusement with a smile. Link just blinked at her as if he was still absorbing what Tyki had said to him.

'How are you a threat in poker?' he seemed to murmur to himself as Elena giggled quietly before walking up to a nurse that had exited the room that the child was taken to.

'How is she?' Elena asked as she stood and grabbed the nurse's sleeve like a child wanting a treat. The nurse turned to her and shook her head sadly.

'I am at a lost, her cuts and bruises will heal but her heart has the most inflicted hurt,' the nurse said quietly as Elena nodded and walked quietly up to the room and leaned her ear against the door. Inside she heard the sobbing of a small child as Elena politely nodded and entered the room, staring sternly at Link not to follow her this time.

The girl was hunched on the bed, her head in her knees as golden locks flowed over her white smock. The girl barely acknowledged her presence until Elena had walked up to her bedside. Elena felt a wave of despairing emotions wash over her like the waves of memories made a grab for her sanity. She knew about the position the girl was in, she had been there before.

'Hello, my name's Elena Walker, I was the one that rescued you from the water,' Elena decided to say knowing well enough that the words, 'are you alright?' and 'you're going to be just fine,' were nothing but empty words to fill people with false hope. The girl glanced up at her, her big blue eyes welled with falling tears and Elena took a seat next to her.

'… Why did you save me?' the girl muttered, Elena could hear a hint of anger rise in the young child's throat. Elena just smiled and leaned back on her hands.

'There are many reasons for me to rescue you… but you should know that living is a gift for us,' Elena said, she was speaking from experience after all, the worst thing for someone was death because then you were easy prey for the Earl.

'That's not what I meant… why… why not leave me to die with mama,' the girl cried a fresh stream of tears as Elena instinctively reached out and pulled the little girl closer. The child stiffened in her arms but slowly relaxed as the exorcist stroked her hair gently.

'Dying would be hollow, besides I believe your mother would have wanted you to live…' Elena said as the girl pulled away from her, but not out of her arms. Her liquid blue eyes wavered in confusion and anger.

'How would you know?' she demanded as the tears continued to fall. Elena just pulled the girl back to her chest.

'Because I use to think those same words when I lost my foster father,' Elena said and surprised herself as those words slipped from her mouth as if it was a common thing for her to say. Despite this it just opened up old wounds that she had locked up in her heart and tried to forget to hide from the despair of the time.

'You did…?' the girl seemed startled as Elena nodded silently and let a single tear fall down her cheek, just thinking about it made it seem like yesterday since that horrible down in the snowy street all those years ago.

'Yes and that was how I was found by Master Cross, he took me in… but it was me who had to come to terms with Mana's death,' Elena explained as she watch the tears slowly stop flowing and were replaced by a fit of hiccups.

'Then how… how did you manage to get passed that?' the girl asked as Elena sighed deeply and placed her hand over her chest.

'My heart and memories of the happy times I had spent with him are enough to keep me going, to know that I can call upon them anytime and know that he will forever be watching me… just how your mother will be doing just as we speak,' Elena couldn't believe she was opening up to the young girl. The girl looked down and nodded slowly.

'Yeah, mama told me to be strong when those strange men attacked us, she said no matter what happened she'd be there for me… thank you Elena…' the girl murmured as she feel into a restful sleep in her arms. Elena smiled a warm and genuine smile before laying the girl back on the bed and pulled the covers over the girl. If she could stop the girl from experiencing the fate she had almost experienced herself was enough to satisfy her heart.

As she exited the room, Link was standing as stiff as a soldier would when she saw him she knew what he had been doing.

'You heard everything, didn't you?' Elena said in a harsh tone as Link frowned at her.

'Is it not my job to watch you?'

'More like stalking… Why?'

Link thought carefully as she went into the foyer of the clinic where Kanda and Jock were waiting patiently. She gripped her wrist and clenched her hand into a fist, the girl had said something useful… strange men… it could be from that legend Jock had talked about.

'Jock, you're going to have to take us out again, we're going to end this and stop this tragedy once and for all…'

….

**Author's note:**

**Oooooh… cliffhanger, I love and hate these. Love because it give you suspense and hate because… I simply hate it.**

**I feel like a kinda rushed this chapter but… oh well…**

**Please continue your reviewing… I gladly enjoy reading them…**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

_~Elena~_

The air was crisp and cold, as they set out from the docks in the early hours of the morning. There was barely a soul to be seen in the streets as Jock undid the boats moorings and pushed the boat away from the docks.

Jock had been reluctant to take the exorcists 'ship hunting' as he called it because he didn't want to face whatever it was that had attacked the ship those survivors were from.

'This is a bad idea, Elena, what if we end up like them?' he voice was filled with worry and fear as Link steered the fishing vessel out to the Firth of Clyde. Elena gazed at him with her sympathetic expression but still couldn't hide the smirk that dared to show on her lips.

'You did say that you would come along,' Elena finally snickered at him as the young fisherman flinched and went off grumbling to himself. He sent off coiling up some rope and securing the fishing nets to preoccupy himself as the boat left the main shore far behind.

'Oi…' a voice called from behind her, Elena turned to see the grumpy face of the person she least liked, besides Link of course.

'What?'

'How are you certain it will show up?' Kanda's voice was rough as he tried to keep a straight composure but she knew he just wanted to shout at her. Elena sighed and glanced around the boat as a fog began to roll in around them, lowering the visibility.

'Who knows? A hunch maybe?' That just pissed the samurai off and he stormed off fuming as Elena decided to head to where Link was in the control room. Link barely seemed to notice her enter the cabin as he focused hard on the fog that obscured what was ahead of them by just a few meters.

'What do you want Walker?' Link asked, he seemed very irritated by the fog that made steering the boat all that difficult. Elena shrugged and stared out the window.

'Nothing, just wanted to see how you were coping with this fog about,' Elena said as Link glared at her reflection in the mirror. A smirk was firmly fixed to her face as if she was enjoying seeing the man focus on something other than her.

'It's your fault for wanting to leave this early in the morning,' Link said coldly before Elena decided to leave the cabin and see how Jock was doing. The young fisherman had run out of things to do so he decided to undo the bindings he had done and redo them.

'I think they're secure enough,' Elena laughed as the fisherman turned to her in shock before coughing and fixing up the rope.

'Right?'

Elena frowned when she noticed how nervous the young man was, his actions were quick and timid. Even the lulling slapping of water seemed to cause him to jump as if he expected something bad to happen any second.

'Maybe you shouldn't have come along,' Elena said finally as she leaned against the side of the boat. Jock stopped fidgeting as he glanced at the silver haired girl whose presence seemed to softly disperse in the surrounding fog.

'Don't blame yourself, I wanted to come even though I regret it now,' Jock explained as he leaned beside her. The boat was rocking gently on the waves as the vessel slowly chugged forward. They were in silence as Elena gazed into the grayness with dull interest. With this fog it was hard to tell whether or not they were going around in circles.

Suddenly a slow steady beat echoed out of the mist as Elena straightened up and frowned. She looked at Jock who seemed just as cautious as she was.

'You heard that right?' he seemed to stammer as Kanda appeared on deck, his permanent frown deepened as the soft sound began to grow louder. It reminded Elena of a steady heartbeat as all three of them stared into the fog. There wasn't any hope of seeing anything but they were certain that the sound was getting louder and quicker. Link loudly exited the cabin.

'The engine culled,' he hissed in anger as Jock blinked out of his trance and frowned.

'That's impossible, I put in a full supply of fuel to run this boat for two days,' he seemed as confused as his voice gave away making the air around them tense with dread. Elena held her ears as the pounding got louder still and quicker till she was convinced that it had to be her own heart that was beating this fast.

'Something's coming from starboard,' Jock suddenly cried out in fear as everyone glanced at him wondering what the heck was 'starboard' but their words were swallowed when a looming shadow sped towards.

'Shit, it's going to ram us,' that was all Elena heard from the paranoid samurai before the crackling of wood screeched into her ears. She reacted quickly and grabbed Jock before extending her now activated innocence to whatever had just rammed into the side of their vessel.

….

_~Tyki~_

A horrible crashing sound echoed out of the mist as Tyki suddenly stood up on the akuma he was sitting on, they had followed the exorcists since they left port. Then the fog appeared making them barely able to see the fishing boat from their position in the sky.

'Clear the fog,' Tyki ordered as one of the akuma did just that and the grey clouds gave way to a massive ship that looked way out of place in this era. The ship was large yet ancient looking with a dragon-like adornment on the bow of the ship. Tyki scanned the deck before he noticed a flash of white land on the deck and felt a wave of relief wash over him.

'Shall we attack them, Noah-dono?' an akuma asked as Tyki frowned and shook his head. Despite their advantage on the situation something seemed off about the ship. He could sense or more specifically, his Noah could. It definitely was here as he watched as a sudden commotion began on the deck.

The white head exorcist and the dark one had their backs against each other, their innocence activated and at the ready. Mist was swirling around them before beginning to take shape into formless humans, well that were what they looked like to Tyki as he shuddered slightly.

It was like watching one of those haunting stories he read in his spare time come to like as the stiff yet limp figures staggered towards the exorcists.

'Are you getting this, Noah-dono?' the akuma he was perched on said in shock, as Tyki didn't respond immediately. This was clearly the work of innocence but its behavior seemed to be that of an akuma.

'Something's not right… meanwhile destroy this ship,' Tyki said before suddenly dropping of the akuma's shoulder and headed towards the deck of the ship much to the surprise of the akuma present.

He landed lightly on the deck with a light thud. The only ones… things that were aware of his presence were the human creatures. Their hollow black eyes swung towards him as they stumbled closer. Tyki called upon his tease and slashed the nearest critters to him. They moaned and disappeared like evaporating steam.

Tyki grunted with displeasure as he tried to focus on the source of the ships power just as he dodged a few of the creatures and made his way towards the back of the ship. The exorcists barely noticed him pass by as they tried their best to keep the beasts away.

….

_~Elena~_

They had managed to escape the doomed vessel in time as she jumped up onto the deck of the ship that rammed them. She let go of Jock and let him stumble onto his hands and knees, his face as pale as her skin. Suddenly a sharp jab of pain split through her left eye and she doubled over supporting herself with one of her arms.

Her cursed eye was in pain she began to here dreadful moans and screams rising from somewhere on the ship. It was just like how the akuma souls effected her but this seemed different as Kanda and Link landed beside her.

'What's wrong Walker?' Link said in a surprisingly concerned voice as Elena looked up at him while holding her left eye. She didn't know what to say but if she did she had no time to say it as the mist around them began to gather in thick dense grey clumps all over the deck.

'What the fuck did you get us into, beansprout?' Kanda hissed with his katana in front of him as the clumps began to gain some sort of human shape before stumbling towards them. Elena stared wide-eyed at the figures, like looked just as dreadful as the souls of the akuma with their hollow black eyes and painful moans and screams.

'Are they akuma?' Link seemed to be calling to her as she blinked out of her horror and stood up on her feet before backing onto Kanda who just grunted.

'Link, guard Jock,' Elena said completely ignoring her supervisor's question as he quickly responded much to his disproval. With Kanda's back against hers, Elena dared to remove her hand from over her left eye and flinched in shock.

'Elena, are they akuma or not?' Link shouted at her again as Elena shuddered from what her left eye saw.

'They're lost souls? But how…?' Elena was choking on words, what she saw through her eyes weren't bound souls like the akuma but actual souls drifting about them but in the same amount of pain like the akuma souls.

'What's wrong beansprout?'

'I don't know, I can see souls but they are definitely not akuma,' Elena stammered as she slashed halfheartedly at one of the creatures that stumbled close to her. It hissed in pain and faded away but only to be replaced quickly by another.

'I'm so glad that that stupid rabbit isn't here,' Kanda growled as he slashed several of the 'lost souls' in one shot and proceed to clear them from his sight. But unlike the akuma, these things just kept coming back. Elena was convinced that the Earl wasn't behind this because he would rather use the souls to make more akuma than to waste them like this.

'Could this actually be innocence?' Kanda seemed to be reading her mind as she frowned at him and slashed the air with cross grave, making several of the human creatures disappear.

'Walker behind you!' Elena turned around just as one of the creatures was about to lunge at her but Link stepped in the way.

'Secret technique: flame wings!' he seemed to chant as sheets of paper came out of nowhere and engulfed the figure in flames. Elena blinked in surprise as Kanda just growled louder.

'So you son of a bitch was a Crow, huh?' he snarled at Link as Link paid no attention to him and continued to switch from defense to offense techniques. Elena seemed bewildered briefly until she noticed another figure move amongst the creatures. His umber skin almost merged with the grey fog as Elena frowned as he melted through the wood door that led to the back of the ship.

She knew only one person with that kind of ability as she rushed towards where the man disappeared.

'Beansprout, where the fuck are you going?' Kanda shouted out after her but she had already broken through the door and barreled down the stairs in shock. Elena stumbled as she reached in front of her and felt her arms wrap around something warm before falling down another flight of stairs.

'You really know how to make an entrance, shojo,' a voice said from beneath her as Elena lifted her head from the warm chest of the man she knew all too well.

'Tyki,' she stood up quickly as the Noah did the same before staring around them. He grunted suddenly looking very pissed when Elena followed his gaze and found that the creatures seemed to show up even underneath the boat.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki had been just as surprised as she was when he felt someone wrap their arms around him; it caught him completely off guard. What irritated him slightly was that because Elena had her innocence activated he couldn't phase through her like he would have done to a normal human.

They tumbled heavily down the stairs and landed with her on top of him.

'You really know how to make and entrance, shojo,' Tyki couldn't help but chuckle as the white head looked down at him and blushed a deep red before getting up on her feet. He scanned his surroundings and growled with annoyance, those things even appear down here and what was worse was that there were a whole lot of them.

'If they're this many we must be close,' Elena seemed to whimper as she held her left eye, Tyki looked at her with concern but decided to ask about that later. He gathered his tease again forming the purple blade and slashed past several dozen of these things that were in his way. Elena seemed to follow him without much protest as she weaved her way around and attack the creatures that had managed to get into his blind spot.

'Shame we're not on the same side,' Tyki said as he held back one creature, they seemed to be getting stronger and crueler the further in they went. Elena didn't respond as she transformed her left arm into a broadsword and swiped one of the creatures in half.

She glanced around, her face was flushed with the effort and Tyki knew she was beginning to reach her limit and it was only going to get worse for. But the creatures around them began to move back into the shadows whimpering as they glanced around them in confusion.

'Tyki!' Tyki jolted back in shock as Elena suddenly sprang towards him, pushing him roughly to the side. A flash of silver glinted in the dull light as Elena screamed in pain and lurched forward. Quickly Tyki was there and picked the exorcist up and jumped several meters back quickly to avoid another attack from whatever the silver glint was.

Out of the darkness stepped a large hulking figure Tyki almost mistook for Skin, the Noah of Wrath. The long frayed beard and red glowing menacingly in its hollow eyes as it held up the ghastly sword that had injured Elena. Tyki felt rage coarse through his veins as he stared at the thing that had dared harm the one he loved.

'Tyki… I think I know what's going on now,' he heard Elena's rasping voice as she slowly moved from his arms in an attempt to stand up. She swayed but Tyki was there to support her as she gazed at the thing with worry more than hatred that Tyki harbored.

'According to Jock, a Viking fleet were cornered here by the English navy and one of the Viking vessels held a treasure. This treasure must have been innocence, the Vikings swore to forever haunt these waters and the innocence is granting that to them… their hatred has contaminated the innocence,' Elena seemed to be choking on her words before the thing, probably one of the Vikings of old because of its strange fur and rough linen outfit, brought down the sword on top of them before they had a chance to dodge.

Tyki blocked the sword just in time and winced at the amount of power put behind the blow, if he had been a normal human, it would have sliced him into ribbons. Elena darted forward and struck it in the chest with her clawed innocence. The thing stumbled back in surprise rather than pain as it swatted Elena to the side.

He watched the exorcist crash into the wooden pillars but boldly stood up on her feet as the thing came after him. Tyki dodged easily but he could clearly sense the power of the innocence flowing from the thing, it seemed to be the source of everything that was going on.

Forming the dark matter into a blade on his arm once more, he ducked under the sword and lashed out at the joint connecting the arm to the shoulder. The arm hit the ground with a sickly thud along with the clattering of metal.

'What are you going to do without that arm of yours?' Tyki asked it as it stared at him blankly as if considering his question. Without answering, the arm leapt up from the ground and reattached itself.

'You've got to be shitting me,' Tyki hissed under his breath and Elena stood by his side again panting heavily.

'It's the hatred that's consuming it, because of the Vikings hatred it won't ever stop,' Tyki growled as Elena had to explain it further, he didn't like this at all, a persistent exorcist was bad enough but this was ridiculous.

'Looks like this is harder than what I first thought,' Tyki mumbled angrily as the thing came at them again.

….

_~Elena~_

Using her acrobatic skills, Elena dodged the blow as Tyki went the other way. The sword crashed and made the ground… even the whole ship shudder from the amount of power, leaving a large crater dropping into sheer darkness.

Elena paused to catch her breath, this was clearly the source, the souls seemed afraid of it… very afraid as she dashed forward and jumped above the things head before bringing her claws down striking the front of its face.

The thing screeched out in pain now as he threw Elena off as she clumsily landed on the ground before flipping away as it swung its sword at her. Tyki was having as tough a time as herself even if he had the powers to destroy it; it also had the powers to destroy him. That was consequences of being polar opposites; what one can destroy the other can destroy it too.

Elena slid under another swing from the thing and pulled her sword out from her left arm before swiping at its knees. The thing stumbled but responded by bringing down its sword on her when she was getting up.

Elena braced herself for the pain but a beam of purple shot out through the wall and hit it smack bang in its chest causing it to stumble back. Then she saw Tyki as he came round and lunged towards the falling thing before slicing it to pieces.

'Thanks,' Elena muttered as they both panted and looked down at the bloody mess of the thing at their feet. She scanned her eyes over it, trying to find the shard of innocence but she couldn't see it at all before a violent shockwave knocked them both back.

'Shit…'

….

**Author's note:**

**Cliffhangers… they're something to love and hate as I explained in a previous chapter. I actually enjoyed writing this chapter because it reminded me of one those zombie movies but this time innocence is behind it.**

**Please continue to review my story and any questions of suggestions you may have…**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

_~Tyki~_

Tyki made a grab for the exorcist, as they were both pushed back by what seemed to be an invisible wall. He twisted around and landed as lightly on the ground as he could the white head in his arms. She looked just as bewildered as he was as they stared at the scene in front of him.

In front of them, the thing was beginning to reform from its feet up till it was clasping its sword with its big hand. Elena shuddered in disbelief in his arms as he steadied her on the ground.

'This is fucking great,' she hissed in annoyance, which surprised Tyki in the situation they were in, the polite girl he was use to was nowhere to be seen instead, a girl with cold silver eyes glaring with a frown on her face.

Tyki shrugged as Elena stepped away from him before lunging forward. Tyki followed close behind as he jumped over the sword and attack the things shoulders while Elena aimed for the legs. Their double attack made the thing confused at whom to attack first as it stared at them wondering what to do with the changing situation.

Tyki swerved and narrowly missed the edge of the blade by a few millimeters but it clear tore through the shirt he was wearing, which pissed him off slightly. He stepped back on his right foot evening his stance before gathering a large mass of dark matter into the palm of his hand. Tyki ducked before thrusting his palm on the things side causing a small explosion to erupt from its side.

The thing staggered back examining the gaping hole in its side as Elena took the opportunity and restrained it with her innocence before making it fall over completely. The exorcist released it quickly before it had time to grab for the white coils that wrapped its body.

'This isn't working, it just keeps recovering whatever damage we do to it,' Tyki growled as he narrowly avoided the sword and ducked again as the pillar behind him smashed and splintered. He had a vague thought about the wood being he but he quickly shook it out when he found that it had distracted him.

The sword came swinging in an upward motion as Tyki flinched at the though of being cut in half. Suddenly something white coiled around the blade as it barely halted in time to miss Tyki's nose. The Noah stared at the exorcist that had managed to once again save his hide before the thing grunted in confusion and swung the sword violently to the side sending Elena along with it. The exorcist smashed badly into some pillars crashing them as she went before she finally released the hold on its blade.

While the thing was perplex by the substance that had taken hold of its sword Tyki followed the girl whose body was flung around like a rag doll. When her body finally stopped she was coughing and trying to stand up yet again, she was persistent like that after all.

'Damnit,' she gasped before entering another coughing fit. Tyki heard a slight gag then something erupting from the back of her throat and into her hand. Elena seemed quick to hide whatever it was but Tyki had caught its metallic smell before she knew it.

'You really should stop playing hero, shojo,' Tyki said with worry as the girl just laughed in a dry voice.

'Nothing seems to work against it,' she stared past him at the thing that had now finally recovered and was gazing around trying to find where they were as if they were hiding. They were clearly not though standing in plain sight right behind it.

'I got something crazy but it might just work,' Tyki began as his head spun with the idea that came to him, Elena frowned at him wondering what on earth he could be talking about.

'What is it?' she asked despite her concern she seemed equally willing to try it out. Tyki leaned closer to her ear and whispered it. As he pulled away, the girl stared up at him with wide eyes, the way those silver eyes quivered with uncertainty made him chuckle.

'It could work… but what if it backfires,' she seemed to be thinking more of the consequences instead of what could actually be achieved. Tyki knelt closer to her and planted a reassuring kiss on her lips and stared deeply into her silver eyes.

'Don't worry, Elena, remember you've still have friends up on deck,' he said in a tender voice as she nodded and stood up. The creature had finally noticed them and had begun to stomp towards them, it bulky figure swaying in time to the rhythmic sound of its steps.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena was quite doubtful at what Tyki was trying to attempt here it seemed rather impossible just like trying to defeat this thing in front of them. But her heart trusted him and that was all she was going to think about now as she deactivated her innocence and entwined her left hand in his.

She breathed steadily as she focused the innocence's power into her left hand while he did the same but into his right. Warmth issued between their grips as some sort of focus repelled their hands apart and began to form. Elena felt frightened by what was going on but she still kept her focus strong and steady.

Elena ignored the approaching thing as she felt a warm yet calming sensation wash over her like the waves were doing to the hull of the large ship. She couldn't help but wonder if Tyki was feeling the same thing as she met his golden gaze briefly before turning to the creature that was now looming over them.

'Keep focused,' Tyki warned her as she shifted on her feet slightly, the pain in her wounds threatened to weaken her to the point that she feared that she wouldn't be able to pull this off.

As soon as the creature raised its sword above its head did they lunged forward pressing the built up power into its chest. A huge flash of light exploded through the darkness as Elena was repelled back but she felt the tender arms of the one she loved wrap around her and setting her gently down.

The light faded and the thing smoldered into ash where a glint of green light began to flicker in the darkness. Elena wanted to move towards it but her strength began to fail her as Tyki strolled forward, what he intended to do reflected clearly in his golden eyes.

'Tyki… don't…' but her words failed her as she collapsed in a heap on the ground her fading vision saw Tyki's fingers curl around the innocence.

….

_~A few moments before on the deck~_

'Secret technique: protection wing,' Link said as the papers formed into a sort of barrier preventing the creatures from looming anywhere near them. His charge had run off and he couldn't follow much to his annoyance and disappointment.

Kanda was across from him slashing away at the creatures that continually descended upon them from all directions. There was simply no end to them as Jock cowered behind him looking as if he would rather leave his fate the merciful sea crashing against the sides of the ship. Link gritted his teeth as he glared over at the direction of the other exorcist.

'A little help would be appreciated,' Link called to him as the samurai snubbed him and went on with his own business he was clearly busy with.

'Oh go fuck yourself, Crow, stop complaining,' Kanda shouted back as he jumped out of the crowd of creatures that gathered around him. Unlike Link he wasn't back against the wall with only three sides to worry about.

'Creatures from the Netherworld, ichigen,' Kanda summoned forth a barrel of ghostly worm-like creatures dispatching the creatures left and right. The samurai had managed to clear most of the creatures from the deck as he flicked the blade of his katana with slight satisfaction though it was short lived.

'The bastard don't know when to give up, ' Kanda hissed as Link mildly agreed with him but not with the language the man used. The creatures were appearing again from the mist that surrounded them looking just as eager as before to get at them.

Suddenly something began to make the whole ship rock violently knocking basically everyone and thing off their feet.

'What the fuck was that?' Kanda growled as if he had enough surprises for now before a column of light erupted from the back of the ship where Elena had disappeared. Link squinted against the glare as it faded as suddenly as it had appeared.

'Oi what are you two idiots gawking at, hurry up and get into the boat or else you're going down with the ship,' the three men turned around and saw a tall figure stride passed them and towards the direction of the light.

'Where the fuck do you think you're going?' Kanda hissed at the mysterious figure that had shown up literally out of nowhere.

'What else, to get my idiot of an apprentice, now do I have to repeat myself,' the man huffed back Link could easily tell the man was pissed off with them just standing there like, as he said, two gawking idiots.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki closed his fingers around the piece of innocence feeling the satisfaction of it crumbling with the touch of his hand. Elena had begged him not to but never finished as she finally collapsed from exhaustion because she had long ago exceeded her limits.

She lay on the ground, her white hair lay around her like a halo and her uniform was in tatters from the attacks of the thing that they had both taken down with some sort of miracle. Tyki wasn't one to believe in miracles but he did believe in fate, humor has it.

He slowly went up to her but slowly paused when he heard faint click echo from the stairwell.

'You'd be wise in backing away Noah,' a harsh voice called from the darkness, Tyki briefly turned on his heel and tried to see who had spoken but the shadows hide his face quite well. Tyki wasn't going to argue with him though, his job was finished after all as he exited through the hole that lay above him and landed on an akuma who had responded to his call.

He wasn't happy to leave Elena with that man but there was nothing he could do especially since that person was a General.

….

_~Someone's POV~_

I descended the stairs quickly leaving the two idiots to board the boat that I had waiting beside the side of the ship. The ship was already showing signs of crumbling and sinking as it creaked and moaned about me.

I was almost down the stair when I saw a fucking Noah walk casually up to the limp figure of a white head lying unconscious on the ground. The way he was walking was odd, it didn't seem like he was there to threaten the exorcist but I knew otherwise and pulled Judgement from its sling on my thigh.

'You'd be wise in backing away Noah,' I said to him in a threatening tone as I undid the safety pin of my innocence. The man turned to me with a dull look in his gold eyes before he quickly left through the bloody hole in the ceiling.

Another violent shudder made the whole fucking ship tilt unnaturally as I hastened over the unconscious exorcist. Her face seemed peaceful as tears slowly fell from her closed eyes. I groaned aloud and picked her up and hurried out from under the ship. The wood underneath my foot was breaking apart now, as I had to quicken my pace and literally jump of the railing.

I landed roughly on the deck of the boat I had managed to 'sneak' from the docks. The girl was still unconscious in my arms as I handed her over to a young woman with a tight fitted kimono.

'See to her wounds immediately, Sachiko,'

'Hai, Cross-sama,' she said briskly before carrying her into the cabin and I was left being stared at the idiots who looked as if they were seeing the walking dead.

'It's good to know you're alive General Marian Cross,' I smirked when the blond head stared me with narrow eyes, which annoyingly reminded me of another I absolutely despise.

'How's Inspector Rouvelier doing these days?'

….

**Author's Note: **

**I had trouble trying to introduce Cross into the story but it seemed like this was the best way… besides I enjoyed writing his POV much to my surprise, his persona is quite easy to pick up on… mostly…**

**Please review my story…**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

_~Elena~_

Elena woke to the pain of her left eye as she bolted up from the warm bed she found herself on. There was someone beside her, humming cheerfully while she shielded her left eye from the person.

She stared vaguely registering their presence, short brown hair that curled at the end was held back with an alligator clip. She wore a tight fighting kimono of a soft pink with dark pink petals stitched into the cloth. She noticed Elena staring at her and her smile widened.

'Ah, it's good to see you're awake exorcist,' she said, her voice was heavily accent as she grinned at the exorcist. Elena frowned at her as her eye throbbed painful… was the girl the cause of her pain? If so…

Elena pulled her hand away and almost fell off the bed in surprise. The twisted soul of a level two akuma lay drifting beside the girl as the girl began to give her a flustered look.

'W-wait it's not what it looks…' but she had no time to finish as Elena leapt at her, her innocence activated. But she didn't get far as her body staggered and she fell to her knees hissing through the pain that ravaged her body.

'Aiya, if you know what's good for you, you'd stay in bed,' the girl whom she realized was in fact an akuma said to her as she slowly approached the white haired exorcist. Elena rejected her help harshly still not getting why an akuma was here in the first place as she made another attempt to control her wounded body.

This time the akuma jumped back in fear as Elena suddenly gave chase.

'Cross-sama~ help me!' the akuma cried out running out of the cabin and stumbled out onto the deck of a small boat. Elena came out moments later ready to slash it into pieces before a rough hand gripped the back of the robe she was wearing and yanked her back.

'Oi idiot apprentice, what are you doing out of bed?' a gruff voice spoke as Elena flinched. It was hard to forget that voice of the man who she least respected with her life.

'Master…' she said awkwardly as Cross let go of his apprentice and left her to stagger and collapse onto the ground once again. The akuma stared at her from behind its pitiful hiding place behind a stack of crates with a smirk firmly fixed to her face.

Elena let her eye deactivate with much difficulty and took in her surroundings. They were on a small vessel bobbing gently on the waves. Kanda was leaning against a barrel while Link and Jock argued over who had the best navigating skills to the point that Cross seemed as pissed as he usually is.

'What are you doing here?' Elena forced herself to say as she tightened the loose robe around her because she found it slightly too big for her. Cross rolled his eyes and turned towards the horizon, the wind blowing through his long red hair.

'Saving your backside, idiot, what else?'

'Let me think… that really isn't your nature master,' Elena bickered back as she stood up with the aid of the outer cabin walls. The rocking boat didn't ease her balance at all and made it all the worse for her. Cross grunted and pulled a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth before lighting it.

'None of you should have shown up, I had the situation under control,' Cross hissed as Elena was about to rebuke the cocky man before Link stepped forward from overhearing the conversation.

'We, at least, follow orders General Cross,' Link said harshly as Elena shuddered at the glint of rage that lurked in Cross' otherwise unchanged face.

'Who asked you, dog of Rouvelier?' Cross barked at him, Link flinched first the first time since he had been assigned to watch Elena. Elena couldn't help but snicker at Link for his stupidity. Kanda was also snickering since he had a similar thought about Link also.

'Besides that, if I hadn't have shown up, that Noah would have killed you, idiot,' Elena flinched as Cross mentioned Tyki before hiding her face with a curtain of her white hair.

'There was a Noah on board? Since when?' Kanda stood up quickly he seemed quite pissed that he hadn't realized that an enemy was on board apart from those things. Elena kept silent as the conversation continued slightly above her, she didn't voice her opinion and let the men come to their own conclusions.

'If a Noah appeared what happened to the innocence?' Link asked as Elena looked up in genuine sadness.

'I tried my best but he managed to destroy it while I fell unconscious,' Elena said as she remembered the way Tyki had ignored her pleads to stop but the Noah had been to enraged at the innocence to even listen to her. Warm wet tears rolled down her cheeks.

'You win some and you lose some, don't cry over it, idiot,' Cross hissed as he raised his hand as if to hit her than thought otherwise and took a heavy breath from his cigarette and like the smoke blow through his nostrils.

'Cross-sama…?' the akuma said nervously from its position behind the pile of crates as Elena had forgotten it was there. She quickly dried her eyes.

'Master, may I ask something?'

'What is it, idiot apprentice?' Cross growled as Elena stared at the akuma with suspicion.

'Why is there an akuma on board?'

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki entered the ark and hurried to his room to get changed. His shirt was nothing but ribbons of fabric where the thing narrowly carved a nasty wound into his skin. He pulled out a new shirt from his closet and threw the wrecked one on his bed.

'Hey, Tyki, Millennie wants to see you,' the door creaked open revealing the girl with spiky purple hair. Her grin was wide and childish as Tyki pulled the new shirt of his head and walked to the door.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm aware of that,' Tyki muttered as he followed his niece to the study room where the Earl was busy knitting. Tyki avoided snickering at him as he entered the room with a slight knock on the door. Road, was another matter as she rushed in and leapt on the man's lap with a cheerful hello.

'Millennie, can I play with Lero?' The girl asked as the Earl cocked his head as if thinking about the proposal. Lero, his umbrella was looking quite nervous between the Earl and Road.

'I can see why not, but make sure you bring him back,' Earl said finally putting his knitting to the side and watched Road literally pounce on Lero and raced out of the room.

'You called Earl,' Tyki said as Lero's desperate screams faded down the hallway. The Earl beckoned him forward with a wave of his hand as Tyki took a seat across from the big man.

'How was the mission, Tyki-pon?' he asked as Tyki grumbled under his breath at the nickname he least liked but forced a smile anyway.

'Successful, I managed to destroy the innocence,' Tyki said as the Earl nodded but the Noah in front of him seemed to want more as Tyki shuddered at what else the Earl wanted to know about the mission.

'I hear the innocence acted quite strangely according to my akuma present,' the Earl said as he picked up his knitting again and began to fiddle with it. Tyki didn't say anything for a while as he wondered what he could say without giving the way the fact of his close relationship with a certain exorcist.

'Well Tyki-pon?' The Earl was waiting patiently as the Noah of Pleasure hesitated to answer him.

'The innocence seemed to have acted differently from what I've experienced personally,' Tyki began as the Earl paused half way through a row expecting the man to continue.

'It seemed to be controlling human souls…'

'One of the Vikings of that time was its accommodator, the situation was similar to that of a fallen one, it used the life energy of those around it to sustain its existence,' Tyki blinked at the Earl with disbelief as he was unable to understand what the Earl was getting at.

'So you knew, my Lord,' Tyki asked as he recovered from his shock and leaned back into his chair. The Earl's permanent grin seemed to be more menacing than before as his golden eyes glinted at Tyki.

'I also knew that General Cross was in the area along with a… certain exorcist,' Tyki shuddered, he didn't like where the Earl was heading with all of this as he stared with narrow eyes at the Earl.

'How much do you know?' Tyki was forced to ask as a chuckle escaped the Earl.

'Enough…'

….

_~Elena~_

'An altered akuma!'

'That's right, I work for Cross-sama now, so I'm on your side,' the girl said with a cheeky wink as Elena and Link stared at her in disbelief while Kanda just glared at it trying to hide his own surprise.

Poor Jock just seemed more confused than all of them combined since he had no idea what an akuma were yet alone the current situation he had gotten himself into.

'I highly doubt that, General,' Link finally managed to say, Elena just blinked between her master and the akuma in the pink kimono before sighing in defeat.

'You never cease to surprise anyone, Master,' Elena said as she frowned at the man with long red hair who threw the butt of his cigarette over the side of the boat.

'Who do you think I am, idiot apprentice?'

'Three things… Alcohol, women and money,' that caused Link and even Kanda to snicker as Cross who just glared at her with narrow eyes before relaxing and staring at her with a lazy look.

'You really shouldn't be saying anything dressed like that,' Cross smirked as Elena paused from her taunting and finally glanced down at what she was wearing. The robe she wore was slightly open revealing the bandages that wrapped around her chest and neck before she blushed deeply.

'You pervert,' Elena screeched at him as he swiftly dodged a kick to his abdomen and placed his fingers to his temple while leaning on the railing of the boat.

'Don't worry, idiot, I didn't do it, Sachiko did,' Cross said his eyes flickering over to the akuma briefly before returning to Elena who was now flushed with rage but slowly relaxed. At least an akuma was better than her master, she supposed.

'Now get changed, where heading into port soon,' Cross said as he strolled casually to the steering while of the ship and rudely shoved Jock to the side. Elena frowned at him and retreated down into the cabin where she was able to find a spare pair of clothes waiting for her on the chest.

She had a feeling that Cross had chosen it because of the overall design of the outfit. There was a white long sleeved dress shirt with dark short shorts and a corset to match, which was accompanied by thigh high socks and… at least she could still wear her boots from her uniform. Why did her master have to be such a pervert?

'Do you want help with that?' a voice called behind her as the akuma, Sachiko as her master called her came into the cabin. Elena frowned slightly as her eye activated before turning away.

'Fine,' she said dryly still not at ease with the 'altered' akuma's presence as the akuma came and helped her with the corset.

As the akuma finished, she paused and Elena felt warm breath on the back on her neck. She jumped back in surprise holding the back of her neck all while her cheeks burned as Sachiko stared at her in confusion.

'You… You seem like one of the Noah?' the akuma sounded just as confused as Elena was. Did she smell Tyki?

'What do you think, I was fighting one before,' Elena defended herself as the akuma shrugged at her.

'I was just saying…'

'Say no more,' Elena hissed threateningly and raced passed the akuma who seemed frozen stiff.

Elena exited the cabin and onto deck where Link sort of greeted her and as she saw his bemusement she silenced any words that were about to roll off his tongue with a stare.

'Don't even asked,' Elena muttered knowing the man was about to question the outfit she was wearing as she saw the port town of Ayr come into view.

They arrived at one of the piers as Jock jumped off and tied it to its moorings. Elena couldn't help but think about what Sachiko had said to her in the cabin. It made her shudder that an akuma could even pick that up and what was worse, could even suspect something.

'Elena, I should be heading home now,' Jock said as Elena blinked out of her thoughts and smiled at the fisherman.

'Go home and please try to forget whatever you saw here, okay?' Elena said as the young fisherman nodded and hurried off through the crowd before she felt a large hand clasp her shoulder.

'You've seemed to have mature, idiot apprentice,' Elena growled as she pulled the hand off her shoulder and continued walking till they reached the inn where they had been staying.

'Are you coming back to headquarters, Master?' she asked ignoring the Cross' words as Link went off towards the phone to report in about their mission. The General grunted with annoyance but didn't say anything as Sachiko's presence got a few curious stares. Elena guessed it was mostly due to the fact of her exotic clothing she was wearing.

Link came back moments later looking rather smug as he glared at Cross who rolled his eyes.

'General, Komui has asked that you accompany us back to headquarters and…' Link eyed Sachiko suspiciously as the akuma stuck her tongue out at him.

'The akuma will also be coming,' Link finished as Kanda grumbled something in his native tongue, which Sachiko seemed to understand and glared at him looking rather pissed off. Elena shrugged off the tension between the two and felt an uneasy feeling rising in her chest.

….

_~Tyki~_

He stared at his right hand that had felt slightly strange over the last few days since he and Elena had defeated that thing in the Firth of Clyde. It felt as if something was there but every time he looked there was nothing, the same hand he had held Elena's innocence. Tyki shook the thought out of his head quickly as Road bounded into the room twirling Lero around like… an umbrella, what else?

'What do you want now?' Tyki grumbled at his niece not wanting to see her at this time or anytime before that after his chat with the Earl. The man was as silent and secretive as he has always been only revealing certain details when he thinks it is necessary.

'You've been acting strangely lately, Tyki, and I'm not the only one to notice,' Road complained as she suddenly jumped into his lap. Tyki winced at the heavy weight that he felt in his lap.

'You're getting heavy,' Tyki teased only to get beaten over the head with Lero.

'You don't say that to a girl, Tyki, it's rude,' Road whined as she opened Lero and began to twirl it over her shoulder. Tyki stared at her dully wondering why the young Noah was even bothering him at a time like this.

'Millennie's calling a family meeting, I think something's up and it could mean some fun for us,' Road said as she jumped off Tyki's lap as suddenly as she had jumped on. Tyki sighed relief feeling the pressure off his lap as his niece twirled around slowly before placing Lero over her shoulder again.

'Tyki?' she seemed to have noticed his silence as he slowly got up and walked behind her.

'Yeah, yeah I'm coming,' Tyki grumbled as he followed his niece towards the dining hall.

….

_~Someone's POV~_

The train station wasn't busy in the early hours of the morning so it was a slightly peaceful walk out of the station. The streets were dimly lit but the lamps as snow slowly began to fall. I was sure the Earl would make his move soon, it was only a matter of time now but I had other business to attend to.

Someone of importance to the Order was returning and I had decided to have a visit to the Headquarters without letting Rouvelier know about it. He didn't always agree with the Vatican interfering with his 'charges', he would sometimes call them but I knew he just wanted to one step ahead of us as usual.

But I, for one, was not going to let him gain anything besides my worry lay else where concern on what had happened a few nights before. That large explosive I had felt from the Firth of Clyde was definitely closely involved with innocence but strangely it was not at the same time.

I was heading to the source or what I believed was the source and I had to act quickly because our grip on the war was clearly at stake by this unknown power.

….

**Author's note:**

**Finally managed to put this up, took me a while to fix up a good situation though…**

**Please review and send in any suggestions and questions…**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen:

_~Tyki~_

Everyone at the table was silent, even the twins and Skin had settled down, respecting the tension that filled the room. Tyki sat next to Road who in turn sat next to her father, Sheril. Both looked equally concerned about what the Earl was up to now by suddenly calling a family meeting.

It wasn't unusual to have one out of the blue but Tyki could tell this was different than the other times and everyone else could sense it. The Earl finally stepped into the room but not in his usual bloated self with the silly grin permanently fixed to his face.

He was in his human form, grey skin and golden eyes with the seven stigmata crossing over his forehead, the usual characteristics of the Noah. This surprised everyone but they kept quiet as the Earl took his seat and began to address everyone.

'I suppose you are wondering what is going on?' The Earl began as Tyki caught Wisely staring at him from across the table with a confused frown creasing his face. It almost made Tyki wonder what had gotten into the Noah of Wisdom before the Earl coughed for attention, mainly from Tyki.

'As I was saying, it seems likely that it is about to make its move,' Earl said as Tyki leaned on his hand in confusion.

'What do you mean by that, Lord Millennium?' Tyki asked with a frown as the Earl chuckled softly as he slowly raised his finger in front of him.

'It is the thing that protects the Heart, Apocryphos,' the Earl said in a lower tone of voice than before causing some of the Noah across the table to lean forward to hear their leader before murmuring in confusion.

'Apocryphos? Earl, who is this you speak of?' Sheril spoke up as the murmuring of confusion subsided quickly.

'Not 'who', Sheril, 'what',' the Earl said as the man relaxed in his chair slightly.

'Most of you will not be able to remember since the accident that happened three decades ago,' the Earl began to explain as Tyki quickly glanced at Road whose golden eyes quivered slightly but wasn't sure of the emotion he saw in them.

The Noah began to murmur amongst them before the Earl clapped his hands for silence. When they were finally silent did the Earl begin to speak again.

'The memory lapse happened because of the violent death of one of our family members…'

….

_~Elena~_

As soon as they entered headquarters they were greeted by many bewildered stares, mostly because General Cross had shown up once in a blue moon after about three years of nothing but short contacts and brief letters. The other, would have been because Cross would not let go of her shoulder not matter how hard she clubbed the womanizer in the stomach with her elbow.

'Elena, I heard General Cross returned and…' Lenalee paused as she saw her friend's irritated expression and stopped there, Elena seemed to be too preoccupied by the bastard who dare wrap his arm around her without her permission. Cross just smirked smugly at his apprentice's silence, as Sachiko stayed quiet close to the both of them.

No one could blame the akuma, after all she had wondered into a place where akuma were loathed and it seemed the safest place was by the General's side for her.

'Uh, it's good to see you again General Cross,' Komui greeted them as he glanced up from his paperwork in surprise seeing the General standing in his office.

'What's been happening around here, Komui?' Cross addressed the head supervisor casually as Elena finally managed to slip from her master's grip and stand a good distance from him.

The General grunted with annoyance and slumped onto the couch as Elena felt a pair of hands gently grip her arm before glancing down at a frighten Sachiko. Elena couldn't help but sigh in sympathy and let it be as Komui pushed the current load of paper onto the already messy floor.

'Nothing that has cause for concern, General Cross,' Komui replied dryly as the General chuckled before Komui turned to Elena.

'You can leave now…' Elena knew the head supervisor was glancing nervously at the akuma behind her as she quickly left the room for the two men to talk in private.

'This is scaring…' the akuma whimpered as she still clung nervously onto Elena's arm, Elena paid no attention to her as she quickly made her way to the cafeteria where she could get something to eat.

'Hey beansprout, you look rather good in that, who picked it?' Elena fumed as she saw a certain redhead run towards her and wrap his arms around her body. At this point Sachiko let got of her and stepped back nervously.

'My name is Elena, stupid rabbit and that bastard of a master chose this for me,' Elena hissed as Lavi glanced her up and down before giving her the thumps up.

'He's got good tastes,' Lavi said with a wink as Elena just moaned aloud at her friend's hopelessness before the redhead caught sight of Sachiko standing behind her.

'Strike!'

'I don't think so,' Elena said sternly gripping Lavi by the back of his collar with her left hand as he tried to wrap his arms around the akuma.

'Your friend seems feisty, Elena,' Sachiko said giddily as Lavi calmed down with a depressed sigh.

'You're mean beanspr…' Lavi never got to finish as Elena let go of his collar and whacked him over the head with her left hand. Lavi collapsed onto the ground gripping his throbbing head in pain.

'How many times do I have to tell you, it's Elena,' Elena hissed at Lavi in a murderous tone before someone called for her nervously.

'I see you're having a good reunion with Lavi,' Elena rolled her eyes as she stared at Lenalee.

'Sure if you call that a reunion,' Elena said sarcastically as Lenalee giggled politely before looking at Sachiko.

'Who's your friend Elena?' Lenalee asked as Elena glanced at the akuma before shrugging.

'My master's charge, ask him,'

'Okay?' Lenalee wasn't so sure what Elena was getting at as she went over to Jerry and ordered her large quantity of food and came back to the table. Sachiko sat next to her looking at the pile of food with shock.

'You certainly eat a lot,' Sachiko said as she winced at the glare Elena gave her and began to eat her food. Lenalee sat across from them undisturbed by how fast the white haired girl was eating.

'So where do you come from?' Lenalee asked as Sachiko looked at her and pointed to herself as if asking the Chinese girl if she was speaking to her. Lenalee nodded and waited for the girl to answer.

'I'm Sachiko, I come from Japan before I left to accompany Cross-sama,' Sachiko explained as Lenalee nodded at her as Elena snorted rudely halfway through on of her plates of food. Sachiko frowned at her before turning back to Lenalee.

'I'm from a nice little village that is surrounded by many rice fields, it was a very pretty place,' Sachiko kept chatting about her hometown, leaving out the part of being an akuma until later in time. Elena silently listened as she quickly finished off her food.

Something had been irritating her very since she got back to headquarters. For one, Link was nowhere to be seen and secondly, the atmosphere felt… strange enough that she couldn't place a finger on it.

'Oi Beansprout, are you really letting that thing seat next to you?' Elena glanced up from her now empty plate and stared into the stone face of Kanda before frowning.

'Don't worry, if she tries anything, I'll be the first to act,' Elena said placing the plate next to the other dirty dishes and leaned on her hands. Lenalee was staring at the both of them in confusion as she wondered why they were both being hostile to Sachiko.

Sachiko shuddered in fear as Kanda drew his mugen and pressed the tip of the blade against her throat just as Lenalee was about to protest.

'Don't try anything funny…' but Elena intervened and placed her left hand over the blade.

'That's enough, Bakanda,'

'What do you think you're doing beansprout?' Kanda glared at her as she made no attempt to remove her hand from his blade.

'It's Elena,'

'So what? You think you can just guard the bloody thing knowing what it is?' Kanda was shouting this loud enough for the whole staff to pause from their conversations and food and watch the pair argue.

'Ah, guys…'

'She's under my master protect, which puts me into a position to do the same, idiot,' she hissed back as she noticed the samurai's dark eyes falter slightly before she let go of his sword. Kanda sheathed his blade and exited the room with a pissed off 'che'.

'Elena what was that about?' Lenalee asked as Sachiko shuddered with relief as Elena stared coldly at her briefly from it thawed into a warm smile quite suddenly.

'Nothing you should be concerned with now Lenalee,' Elena chirped cheerfully making her friend confused about whether or not the whitehead was actually certain about that.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki gazed into the crackling flames of the roaring fire, the conversation at the family meeting replaying in his mind over and over again. He hadn't been aware of the events three decades ago probably because he had woken as the Noah of Pleasure fifteen years after the incident.

But that still wasn't an excuse to have missed something that important. It concerned Tyki that the Apocryphos was somehow involved in this and had enough motives to strike again.

'It's interesting, the events from thirty years ago,' a voice called Tyki out of his thoughts as he gazed reluctantly from the flames and stared at the Noah of Wisdom who had strolled into the room.

'Don't worry, I wasn't reading your mind, it's quite easy to tell actually,' came Wisely's reply as Tyki rolled his eyes at the whitehead.

'What do you want, Wisely?' Tyki asked dryly as the Noah snickered and sat in the chair across from Tyki with little intention of leaving the room much to the Noah of Pleasure's wishes.

'Exactly what I said… the events from thirty years ago, don't they frighten you?' Wisely questioned Tyki as the crackling fire barely broke the silence held between them.

'No… Just feel a little betrayed, that's all,' Tyki mumbled under his breath, many of the Noah had felt the same when they had heard this coming from the Earl, the reasoning though was taking its sweet time sinking in.

'The Earl has his reasons for keeping silent, for all those years he could never be certain whether it was safe to mention this or not,'

'We all respect the Earl without question, we would have believed him either way,' Tyki cut in as Wisely scowled him for it like a father would to his child. Tyki quickly glanced back at the roaring flames.

'That's besides the point Tyki, it was to protect a member of our family from harm once they had awakened,' Wisely seemed persistent to make Tyki understand the true intentions of the Earl's silence. Tyki hadn't gotten it and still wasn't getting any of it even though Wisely did his best to explain it to him.

'So there are more than thirteen members of the Noah family?' Tyki asked feeling quite stupid doing so as Wisely nodded slowly but with a frown creasing his brow.

'Over the last few generations of the Noah family, yes,'

Tyki glanced away from the fire and stared at the Noah of Wisdom with curiousness but decided not to say anything.

'Even the Earl's not certain where the extra Noah fits, but he is certain that it was important enough for Apocryphos to go after them,' Tyki grizzled when Wisely read his thoughts only to receive a smirk from the Noah across from him.

'I really wasn't wanting an answer Wisely,' Tyki growled and gazed back at the flames of the fire.

'Knowledge is valuable but it can also be one's destruction,'

'Oh, shut up already!'

….

**Author's note:**

**Another chapter, but a little short compared to other chapters but oh well…**

**I'm starting to hit that dreaded writer's block so reviews will be much appreciated up to this point, as they have always been, thanks…**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen:

_~Elena~_

Things had been going from bad to worse because lately, Elena could feel eyes on her wherever she went. It was bad enough having Link return to her side but she also had to worry about General Cross and his akuma companion, Sachiko… especially Sachiko.

Elena literally felt her life spin wildly out of control.

'Walker, that isn't the way to the cafeteria,' a voice rang through her thoughts as Elena paused and gazed down the corridor that led towards the science department. She flushed with embarrassment and hurried passed Link before he could say another word.

Link had been awfully annoying since he came back from wherever he went in the first place and she would have rather that he stayed there. Elena sighed with irritation and ordered her food before taking a seat next to Lenalee and Lavi. Her friends were deep in some sort of conversation before they eventually noticed Link and her presence.

'Good morning, beansprout,' Lavi said cheerfully as Elena's eye twitched at the nickname but didn't say anything as she began to eat her food with a thoughtful glint in her eye.

She couldn't be bothered correcting Lavi because her mind was already full of mental notes that she had to be mindful of constantly. But even so, she would still forget them and end up bringing more trouble than what she wanted.

'Two-spots hasn't been questioning you again, Elena?' Lavi asked as Elena paused from one of her plates and stared at him.

'Not like I'd answer anyway,' she muttered in reply as Link grumbled in agreement with her. Lavi laughed aloud attracting a few stares from the staff in the cafeteria.

'So how's things with General Cross, Elena?' Elena rolled her eyes at Lenalee's question that literally wrecked any hopes of getting any more food down into her bottomless pit of a stomach.

'You had to ask,' Elena whined and placed the plate she was currently eating from on the table in front of her. Lenalee wavered a quick sign of apology before continuing.

'I was shock when Komui announced that Sachiko was in fact an altered akuma,' Lenalee said but her voice seemed to be wavering with concern that made Elena chuckle at her.

'I don't see any problem at all, don't worry about me,' Elena said quickly as she stood up as did Link before she sent a glare at him.

'I'm having a shower,' Elena said as she left Link to frown before sitting back down and continuing on with his breakfast.

Elena made her way back quickly to her room and paused, she could sense someone behind the door and they seemed to have noticed. She jolted back in shock as a hand reached out from the now opened door and pulled her in before she had time to shout for help.

A rough hand clasped over her mouth quickly and Elena founded herself staring into the face of her master, General Cross.

'We need to talk,' he said stiffly without adding the usual 'idiot apprentice' at the end, which made Elena skeptical of what he wanted to say. She wretched her arm free from Cross' grip and glared at him in the gloom that was cast from the light hitting the curtain covered window.

'Sachiko told me something interesting before, but I was beginning to guess something anyway…' Elena froze as her glare dropped and her face paled to an unnatural sheen.

'I-I have no idea what you are talking about,' Elena said as steadily as she could but Cross picked up her unease rather quickly. He strolled across the room towards her, his hand tucking some of her white hair behind her ear.

'I thought there was something different about you when you finally woke up, but I never guessed that you'd get yourself this deep in shit,' Elena slapped his hand away from her face as she finally recovered from her shock.

'And what 'shit' would that be, Marian?' she said darkly as Cross seemed to roll his eyes at her carefree response and grabbed the wrist of her left hand. He held it till it was hovering between both their faces. Elena struggled to get out of his grip.

'Let go, bastard,' Elena hissed as she tried to pull away but Cross pulled her closer until she could feel his breath against her ear.

'You gave yourself to someone, haven't you,' Elena went rigid at that statement but Cross didn't give her anytime to rebuke him.

'I can easily tell that because that 'mask' of yours is beginning to show cracks…'

'I said let go!' Elena said being careful not to raise her voice too much as she finally managed to get him to realize his grip. She couldn't stop the hate for the man in front of her as he looked at her rather amused by her sudden retaliation.

'Then Sachiko said she had caught the scent of a Noah on you and then there was the behavior of the Noah back on the ship too…' Elena covered her ears as she staggered away from him.

'That's none of ya fucking business, drunkard,' Elena said in defiance her persona from several years ago starting to scrape the surface.

'Since you're not refusing then what I'm suspecting is true, Elena… or should I say Fourteenth,'

'How dare ya use that here?' Elena flared at him as she stepped towards him and slapped him hard across the face with her left hand. The mask covering the right side of Cross' face slipped slightly out of place as Cross quickly went to fix it up, grumbling as he did so.

'Careful Elena, Central's starting to suspect something and you know 'it' will show up soon,' with that Cross went to leave the room, Elena stood with her back to him as he reached the door. She quickly crossed the room to her desk and grabbed the vase and flung it at the door just as Cross slipped out.

The vase shattered on contact with the door and the smashed pieces scattered over the floor. Elena couldn't contain the fuming she felt as she knew that Cross' presence was never a good sign. Clenching and then unclenching her hands, Elena slowly remembered what she had originally came into the room for and grabbed her stuff to take to the shower.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki had managed to get out of the Ark without the other members of the family notice, well almost… Road had caught him just as he was about to enter a gate and had insisted that she tag along.

Tyki was irritated at having his niece accompany him but he really didn't have a choice since Road had threatened to tell the Earl if he refused.

'So where are we going, Tyki?' Road asked holding Lero above her head like the umbrella it was. Lero had put up the much protest about leaving the Ark with Tyki and Road but it didn't have much of a choice in the end.

'Some where that I can think properly without getting disturbed,' Tyki muttered not trying to hide his irritation at all as they walked through a quite park in one of the towns in England.

Tyki didn't know why he had chosen to come here but the park was relaxing, he had to admit. The trees were numerous and a lush evergreen against the frost that hung in the air. A light mist danced above the waters of the large lake spread out before them.

'Can we have some fun?' Road asked her uncle as Tyki groaned aloud. He knew that would mean getting some akuma involved and he wasn't in the mood to see any exorcists.

'No,'

'Eh? Why not?' Road started to whine hitting Tyki in the back with Lero.

'No is no, Road, besides you're the one who wanted to tag along,' Tyki said at the young Noah throwing a tantrum like a two-year-old.

'That's no fair, I want some fun,' she complained in a tone Tyki dreaded, when she had her mind made up, that was that. Road waved Lero above her head calling for all the akuma in the local area to them. They appeared in less than a minute as Tyki began to feel even more irritated with his niece; he had no idea what Sheril saw in her.

'Yes Noah-dono?' the akuma said in polite unison as Road stared at each one with her childish grin.

'We're going to draw some exorcists here… attack the town but don't kill everyone yet,' the akuma nodded and transformed before zooming off to do Road's bidding.

'What are you up to Road?' Tyki couldn't help but ask as he made himself comfortable on a nearby bench and pulled out a cigarette. Road stared at him with a slight frown before she stormed over and wrenched the lit cigarette out of Tyki's mouth and stomped on it.

'You'll see…' Tyki grizzled mostly because his cigarette went to waste under Road's foot as he glanced up at her with dull amusement flash across his golden eyes.

'You know how I hate surprises, Road,' Tyki said showing that he still wasn't interested in what she was planning to do with the akuma other than attracting the exorcists.

'Now can I smoke in peace?'

Road stuck out her bottom lip in a silent protest and twirled the distraught Lero around with her in a dizzying circle. Tyki glanced down at grass growing passed the top of his shoes before staring back at Road once Lero had settled down.

'Wait and see Tyki, you'll enjoy it too,' Tyki shuddered as a grin crossed Road's face and was beginning to dread what she was about to do.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena sighed with relief as she turned off the tap of the shower and stepped out, wrapping her towel around her slender body. The water running over her skin was quite relaxing and had washed away some of her anger at Cross.

She quickly put on fresh clothes and dried her hair as much as she could before stepping out into the hallway. When she did, she had not expected Lenalee to be waiting for her on the other side of the door. Her purple eyes were frowning with some sort of concern.

'What is it Lenalee?' Elena asked regaining her composure she had lost during her argument with Cross. Lenalee didn't say anything but walked beside her until they had returned to her room.

'I saw General Cross exit your room, what was that about?' Elena couldn't help but shudder at her friend's question. She had to think quickly of an explanation to explain that.

'The usual, he's such an ass,' Elena mumbled as she threw her towel onto the bed and began brushing her hair. She ignored the scattering of water that sprayed from her wet hair as she ran the brush through it to get rid of the knots.

'I see…' Lenalee didn't sound convinced as Elena stopped brushing and slowly put the brush down on her desk and turned to the Chinese girl standing in the middle of the room.

'You should worry about the others, I can take care of myself,' Elena said finally softening her tone so she didn't sound harsh but Lenalee caught it anyway.

'You don't understand do you, Elena? Central has began coming around and inspecting the whole place ever since you went on that 'outing' of yours,' Elena could clearly hear the frustration in Lenalee's voice but Elena settled herself in the seat at her desk.

'So?'

'So, you should be trying to clear your name instead of adding to it,' Elena went rigid as she clashed her left hand tightly on the edge of the desk. The longer Lenalee stayed in her room, the more the anger returned and she didn't fancy taking another shower.

'Just leave Lenalee, as you said, I have enough on my plate,' Elena said as Lenalee was about to leave the room, Reever burst in, his face flushed from running around.

'Komui wants to see both of you in his office… now,' Lenalee and Elena exchanged a brief confused glance before hurrying after Reever. They arrived shortly after with Lavi also being present in the paper messy room.

'It's good that you have joined us,' Komui said as Lenalee and Elena walked closer to the couch Lavi was resting in before the head supervisor continued.

'I need you to head to outskirts of London, akuma have become a nuisance there, but you better hurry, we have no idea why they are there in the first place,' the worry was clearly evident in Komui's voice as the exorcists in front of him nodded.

'Do we have time to change?' Lavi asked glancing quickly down at the casual clothes he was wearing as Komui shook his head pitifully before the exorcist left the room. Elena rushed down the hall with Lenalee a few steps ahead and Lavi right behind her before Link showed up.

'Why's everyone running?'

'Urgent mission, akuma are attacking the outskirts of London,' Elena briefly explained through her panting as the four of them hurried down the stairs to the docks and boarded the boat there. Lavi took the oar in hand while the others jumped in; Elena shuddered as the chill of the underground chamber sank into her dress shirt. Something felt out of place as they left and it didn't make any sense to any of them.

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki watched from the top of the building while the akuma entertained themselves below them. Road was sitting casually on the eave of the building with Lero quietly spinning above her head.

'Honestly, Road, what are you planning to do once someone does arrive?' Tyki sighed heavily watching the chaos below feeling quite bored. His niece had said nothing since they had left the park to watch the devastation the akuma were causing on the outskirts of London.

Some police showed up but were baffled by the presence of akuma that they too were running around screaming. It would have usually amused Tyki but he wasn't feeling for it at the moment as he glanced down at Road whose golden eyes glinted in delight.

'Patience Tyki, they won't be long now,' Road said in a low voice as Tyki frowned at her.

'Does the Earl know about this?'

'No and yes but who cares?' Road's response just made Tyki feel uneasy about the punishment the Earl would likely give them when they returned to the Ark, but as usual Road wasn't one to think of the consequence of her actions until afterwards.

'Innocence level 2 activate, Hell's fire,' a voice rang out of the chaos as both Noah looked up and were suddenly greeted by a fiery snake that snagged and destroyed the lower leveled akuma and scathed the rest.

'Here they are,' Road seemed to cheer as she quickly stood up beside Tyki who gazed at the source of the fiery snake before his eyes widened in surprise. The snake had come from the exorcist with red hair and an eye patch while two other figures stood behind him. One had long green hair cascading over her shoulders while the other had snow white hair that contrasted beautifully with the shadows.

'Maybe I was wrong Road, this looks fun after all,' Tyki said pulling the gloves on his hands further up his arm as Road chuckled softly but knowingly. The green haired exorcist leapt of the build while a green light enveloped her legs and red boots appeared before she stomped down on a level three akuma.

Tyki wasn't look at her though, his eyes firmly fixed on the graceful figure taking out several akuma with a sweeping blow of her broadsword. Nether of the exorcists seemed to be wearing the usual black and white uniform as the akuma quickly gathered themselves and attacked in relish delight.

The two female exorcists retreated behind the enlarged hammerhead of the only male in the group as the akuma showered them in a rain of dark matter. It was a lovely spectacle to watch from their position on top of the building as the akuma stopped and several dived towards the huddled exorcists.

'Death orb,' the whitehead cried out as many of the akuma exploded above the exorcists' heads and Tyki couldn't help but smirk.

'Are we going to join them or not?' Tyki said glancing over at his niece who stared back with a tender smile.

'I thought you'd never ask,' Road said as they both leapt off the building. Tyki landed lightly on the ground while Road floated beside him using Lero like Marry Poppins. The exorcists glared at them… well the redhead and green haired girl did while the whitehead stared unmoved by their presence.

'I see shojo hasn't changed much,' Tyki said before he moved forward with incredible speeds catching all the exorcists off guard. Meanwhile, Road summoned several of her candles and started to scatter the exorcists with them.

The exorcists scattered unintentionally as Tyki greeted the redhead half way up in the air and smashed the surprised exorcist into the building.

'Lavi!' a voice cried out as Tyki barely felt the presence of the person just as they came up from below Tyki and took a swipe at him. Tyki used the air as a foothold and leapt higher and out of reach of the whitehead's sword.

Tyki landed on the building as Elena followed close behind and they began paring with each other trying to gain a blow from the other. Tyki released his tease causing the girl to stumbled back in surprise and revert their sword back into the elegant black claw that was her left arm.

Tyki chuckled as he leapt through the crowd of tease pushing the exorcist through a wall and into the next building. He heard the exorcist cough underneath him as he let the tease fall back away from the girl revealing her pale face and silver eyes.

'You really know how to brighten my day, shojo,' Tyki murmured to her as she smirked at him.

'Really? You know how to make mine difficult,' she retorted back before their lips caressed each other. Their kiss wasn't long but satisfying enough, Tyki caught the girl's eyes glint mischievously as she suddenly threw him off with a kick of her foot.

'You really can be cruel, shojo,' Tyki sighed as Elena swiped at him but he dodged every blow quick easily before disappearing through the wall.

'Curse that ability of yours you jerk,' Elena said teasingly as Tyki emerged from the floor and attacked her exposed back.

'I like it,' Tyki said feigning hurt.

….

_~Someone's POV~_

I kept my distance from the battling because I wasn't an exorcist after all and my field only went as far as protection and intelligence. The akuma were ridiculously thick even in this small area as the exorcists attacked in turn, anticipating each other's movements.

I watched from the shadows keeping my presence unknown as two Noah showed up from the top of a building having watched the entire scene from above. One was a young girl with spiky purple hair and floating down towards the ground using a pink umbrella.

The other was a tall man dressed like an aristocrat but his facial features looked vaguely familiar if it weren't for the umber skin, stigmata and gold eyes that clearly stated that he was a Noah.

They attacked as suddenly as they had appeared scattering the exorcists out of their well formed formation as I watched the annoying redhead who dare to give me a nickname, smash through a thick wall of bricks and mortar.

Elena was quick to come to his aid as she attacked the man with her broadsword. The Noah seemed to use the air as if it were solid and jumped further out of my charge's reach and landed on the building several metres away. Lenalee was busy holding off the wicked looking candles the girl was spearing at her before I decided to follow Elena.

I followed quietly sticking to the shadows all while the two fought almost on equal grounds. The grace both of them held as they tried to harm the other was something to behold, I had to admit before Elena was distracted by an abundance of dark-looking butterflies.

The Noah took advantage of this and lunged at her sending them both through another wall of a building. I got up from my hiding place beside the chimney and edge towards the corner of the building that would give me a better view of the battle within the building.

The dust slowly cleared with the Noah having pinned Elena on the ground. As I rose up ready to help her… despite everything else I must add… and paused in shock. I was unable to take in the scene that happened in front of me.

The Noah had bent down and kissed her firmly on the lips and she didn't retaliate! I crouched down; confusion clouded my judgment as I tried to figure out what was happening. This couldn't be true… but my conclusion was further tested as Elena suddenly kicked the Noah off and started to attack him again.

I blinked and slowly backed away from the edge, taking in everything I had seen with each breath I drew into my lungs. This seemed to strong support what Inspector Rouvelier had suggested for a while now, was Elena Walker actually on our side?

….

**Author's note:**

**The plot thickens, the plot thickens ~singing~ **

**I hope you enjoyed this as much I did writing it and please keep reviewing; the more I receive the better chapters I can produce for you…**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen:

~Someone's POV~

It was a pain, I admit that, Rouvelier was as persistent as those bastards could ever get. He had managed to drag me to Central, the place I solely hate besides headquarters, and that place was starting to look more like a haven than in this hellhole. Rouvelier was sitting across from me leaning intently onto his elbows, a menacing grin mounted on his sharp features.

Sachiko was behind me, her presence made clear by her nervousness that surrounded her like a heavy cloud. I didn't blame her of course but her mood was starting to affect me as well and that pissed me off.

'I hope that you're aware of why you are hear,' Rouvelier said, I wished I could walk over there and smash that grin off his face, everything about that man pissed me off more than Komui that was for sure. But I couldn't really be bothered; I had made myself comfortable on the couch present in the room. Rouvelier's office was much neater than Komui's nothing was out of place that it started to creep me out slightly.

'Not one clue, you're persistent really did stop me from asking questions,' I said being a bit smug in my current situation as Rouvelier's brow frowned enough to be permanent. He wasn't at all pleased with my response.

'Elena Walker, the only apprentice you have picked up ever since you were made General...'

'You want to find out about her background because of her behavior, right?' He really seemed pissed that I had interrupted his speech that I was certain would go on for the millennia.

He liked being right and the one in the 'know' when it came to the holy war against the Earl. To be honest, I'd rather face that bastard than the one in front of me; at least I could take my frustrations out on one of them.

'As we have learned, you picked her up five…'

'Three,'

'… Let me continue, General,' Rouvelier could be quite a stick in the mud when it came to situations like this and that was all the more reason to have fun with the bastard.

'Five years ago, she having just lost her foster father and having used the Earl's powers, brought him back and her innocence to waken at that particular moment. She didn't leave the accident unscathed of course, obtaining a 'cursed' eye from her father that allows her to see the souls of the akuma,' Rouvelier seemed to be prattling on and on as I leaned on the armrest clearly showing my boredom of the subject we were discussing.

'I hope I'm clear, Cross,' Rouvelier seemed to finish as he stared expectantly for me to say something as I slowly drew in a breath of the stale air in the room.

'I'd say you summoned it up pretty well,' I said teasingly but he didn't like that as he stood up pushing his chair back and paced casually to the bookcase. I frowned at him. He seemed to like his position of power in the Black Order, it gave him power and he used it to his advantage much to my annoyance of course. He had actually threatened for me to go to Central, and I was not a fool to not take him seriously.

'Elena seems to be a strange girl from my lieutenant's reports he gives me. According to his observations, Elena used to cross-dress, could you explain that,' I flicked my eye away from the bastard as he stared across from his position beside the bookcase.

'That was her choice so ask her yourself,'

'Secondly, Elena seems to change personalities from easy going to dark…'

'She was a performer when she was traveling with Mana, of course she would know how to change that,' I grunted dully as his frowned deepened to the point I was sure that he couldn't go any further.

'Thirdly, she seems to disappear against orders… doesn't that sound familiar, Cross?' I laughed at that last statement, he wasn't joking and he clearly was amused by my humor of the situation as he glared and waited for me to stop.

'That really is her problem,' I said threw a few fake coughs to settle my amusement before Rouvelier went back over to his desk, a growing smirk stretching unnaturally across his face.

'One last thing, Cross… are you aware that Elena seems intimate with one of the Noah?' I couldn't help but go rigid, that bastard did not just mention that. I silently cursed at my idiot apprentice for being that careless after I had specifically told her to be careful.

'It seems you are aware of it… Link gave me the interesting news just as you arrived,' I straightened up as I glared at him dangerously, if I could I would shoot that smirk right off his face and leave a hole in its wake.

'And what of it?' Rouvelier's smugness disappeared and was replace with seriousness.

'I want you to be clearly straight with me, Cross, who is 'she'?'

….

**Author's note:**

**Sorry for the wait and a short chapter… but this is getting really dicey at the moment for poor Elena. **

**Please continue to review, it actually will help me produce new chapters quicker because, to be honest, the plot of this story changes the more I think about it and it would be a huge help…**

**Thanks**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

_~Elena~_

The atmosphere of the Order was dense like a humid day but without the heat. Everywhere she went there seemed to be a strange person dressed from head to toe in some sort of outfit that made a Muslim woman seem underdressed.

Elena could tell something was up; everyone at headquarters was on edge as they stared nervously at the new comers that had obviously come from Central. They had been issued as guards here several days ago much to Komui's protest and the order was made by Inspector Rouvelier. She gritted her teeth as she tooth of the narrow-eyed bastard that dared to place her under supervision with an emotionless dog with a wrenched name.

Link was, as usual, walking casually beside her with his nose firming into a book that made it tempting to slam it shut on his nose. Elena couldn't have cared less about his presence but there seemed to be some sort of rumor spreading around the Order and she was determined to found out what.

'Walker, the cafeteria is this way,' Link said suddenly intruding into Elena's thoughts as she glanced down the corridor that led to the science department. She flushed slightly at her lack of directions and pushed past Link and headed towards the cafeteria where the lively atmosphere was replaced with dark whispers and unease.

Elena had never felt this out of place before as she walked up to Jerry and order her food. As she sat down she seemed to notice the looming presence of several people. Elena glanced up to see Lavi, Lenalee and even Kanda.

'What's up?' Elena said undisturbed by their presence as her friends took a seat around her and Link. Kanda though, remained standing and looked as if he'd rather be elsewhere like usual.

'Elena, have you noticed anything strange going on?' Lenalee said as she looked at her glutton of a friend woof down plate after plate of food. Elena glanced up and stared at the Chinese girl sitting across from her.

'If you're talking about the early arrival of Halloween then yes, I have noticed,' Elena retorted dryly finishing off the last plate within seconds. Lenalee frowned at her response but said nothing more as Lavi spoke up.

'Two-spots, here isn't giving you any trouble?' Lavi said with concern as Elena smirked at him.

'The only trouble is his presence, Lavi,' Elena said receiving a snort of disapproval from Link as he quickly glanced up from the book he was reading eyeing both her and the redhead head before continuing to read.

'Point taken,'

'Why's Kanda here?' Elena had to ask as she took an interest to why the sulky samurai was even here in the first place though she did have a few guesses as to why that was.

'There's nowhere in this fucking place that is free from those Crows,' Kanda hissed with annoyance and Elena nodded in mutual agreement, neither of them liked those fancy dressed people.

'I wonder why they're here? I mean nothing suspicious has happened since Elena left the Order without permission…'

'Why thanks Lavi,'

'… And then General Cross having been called to Central,' Elena stood up as she heard that, her fists slamming defiantly against the wooden tabletop. That was why she hadn't seen him in a while as she hurried out of the cafeteria before Link or any of the others could follow.

Elena couldn't stop the overwhelming fear that something bad had happened as she hurried through the corridors in hopes of seeing that pathetic womanizer of a General. However, her run of luck and lack of directions even though she had been living in the Order for almost two years, she ended up at the front of her bedroom.

She grizzled angrily as she opened the door and glanced around the dimly lit room, she felt another presence in her room and the activation of her left eye only reassured her of who it was.

Elena flung opened her wardrobe door and saw Sachiko flinch with surprise. The akuma seemed afraid and uncertain of what was going on. Elena cursed her erupt actions as she gestured for the akuma to get out of her wardrobe.

'What the heck were you doing there?' Elena hissed at the akuma as its mouth flapped open and closed like a fish out of water. She cursed again before taking in a deep breath and sat the akuma on her bed.

'What's wrong?' Elena said as the akuma looked briefly confused as if trying to straight out whatever was rushing around her head.

'Cross-sama and I were sent to a place called Central to talk to the Inspector there… and… um,' Sachiko started to fidget about like a three year old that needed to go badly. Elena frowned slightly as Cross was mentioned and swallowed the urge to demand what happened.

'Is it… true… Elena…?'

'Huh? What's true?'

'That you're…' Elena didn't need for her to say anymore as she suddenly grabbed the akuma's wrist and pinned the poor thing against opposite wall. She felt sorry for taking her anger out on the akuma that just happened to be dragged along but she couldn't stop herself.

'Fuck, if 'it' finds out then I'm totally screwed,' Elena hissed as she literally dropped all polite manner of speech along with the akuma who stared wide-eyed at her. Before she could continue though, a loud knocking could be heard from the door.

'Miss Walker, why is your door locked?' Elena rolled her eyes as the recognizable voice of Howard Link and placed her finger to her lips as she glanced that the akuma. Sachiko nodded slowly as Elena strolled across the floor of her room to the door.

'Walker…!'

'What is it Link?' Elena demanded as she opened the door slightly and stared at her supervisor with annoyance. Link flinched slightly as he studied the cold expression etched clearly across her face before regaining his composure.

'Do not run off like that, you are still being supervised,' Link said as Elena glared unmoved by the dangerous stare he was giving her before he suddenly barged into the room. Luckily, during that time, Sachiko hid herself in the wardrobe again as Link began pacing the room. Elena slowly closed the door behind her as she stared at the man in her room.

'Besides, I wanted to ask you something ever since we had gotten back from the sudden mission in London,' Elena waited for it, she knew that the lieutenant had been acting odd ever since they had gotten back from London as she patiently waited for his question.

'What is your relationship with the Noah you were fighting?'

An awkward silence fell between them as Elena slowly strolled across the room and focused on the clouds drifting across the quarter moon. Link's eyes were boring into her back as Elena curled her left hand against the corner of the window, feeling the pleasure of the rock crumbling underneath her grip.

'So it was you…'

'That is not what I'm asking here Walker…'

'I fucking know what ya asking ya twit,' Elena hissed in a low voice without turning around and facing the young man as she felt him tense. Her persona from several years ago broke through as she spun around finally and stared at Link, silver eyes flashing in an unspoken rage. But there was a smirk gracing her lips.

'Ya know, I really didn't like it much here… but…'

Link was frowning at her as she slowly stepped closer, she could see his hand twitching as she read his movements and ducked under the restraint spell he sent her way. Soon enough her face was too close to his as he tried to stumble away from her but collapsed after she placed two fingers onto his head.

Elena glanced down at the man who was now asleep and would clearly have a huge headache in the morning because his head had smashed against the corner of the bed.

'You can come out now,' Elena called to Sachiko who slowly stepped out of the wardrobe. Her eyes fell on the Lieutenant but she didn't say anything as Elena strolled to her bedroom door.

'We're getting out of here,'

….

_~Somebody's POV~_

I was walking up slowly down the hall, passing many people who were vaguely aware of my presence. I was glad of that as I paused in a seemingly empty hallway. There were now members of Crow placed on nearly every corner that it was impossible that Inspector Rouvelier would miss this.

I strolled up the hall before I ducked into the shadows of an alcove, two figures hurried out of one of the rooms lining the hallway. They seemed to be in quite a hurry as I sensed that one of the figures were… off. I could clearly feel the dark matter pulsing from them and wondered vaguely what an akuma was doing here at Headquarters. But I didn't question further as the suspicious behavior drew my attention and I began to follow.

They moved quickly, easily avoiding the stationed Crow and made their way towards the docks when I came to the conclusion that they were trying to leave. They slipped down the stairs and I followed closely keeping to the shadows as they stepped into the light. One of them was dressed in a pink kimono running quite easily in the thong-like shoes that she was wearing. The other had startling white hair draping over her shoulders, her clothes heavy contrasted her hair. The clothes were gothic styled with dark short shorts and a frilly white top and black corset with white stitching trailing up and down it.

I clearly recognized that one… Elena Walker, a parasitic type exorcist who joined the Order almost two years ago but had been an apprentice to General Cross for about five years. That was what the data had read of her anyway, it also mentioned about her cursed eye and a close encounter with the Millennium Earl himself.

I paused and stepped back into the shadows more as she turned around and looked towards the staircase where I was hiding. It almost seemed like she had sense my presence before urging the girl in the kimono into one of the boats and quickly pushed off the docks. When they disappeared into the shadows of the caverns I stepped out of my hiding place and glanced at where they went missing.

Elena… when I saw her eyes, I saw something familiar, like I had seen them before. Then a crude smile curled its way onto my lips. It had to be…

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki woke for a start having fallen asleep in front of a roaring fire. It had been a few days since he last saw… fought Elena but that wasn't the problem now.

His right hand had begun to throb, which had caused him to wake up so suddenly. This slightly confused him as he raised his right had to the light of the fire and turned it around. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it while glancing at it but he could feel the pain coarse through the veins in his hand.

It felt familiar to the time after he and Elena had used their combined powers to different that thing back in Scotland. But this was excruciating and it bothered Tyki to a point he grumbled.

'What's wrong Tyki?' Tyki jolted as he glanced up and saw Road leaning on the back of his chair looking very concerned for her uncle.

'It's nothing, just leaned on my hand too long,' Tyki made a pathetic excuse for the pain in his hand but what else could it be? He watched the girl's eyebrow rise with confusion as Tyki adjusted his position in his chair. But that didn't help with the uneasy feeling about… something.

'That's not it Tyki, stop being selfish, what's actual wrong?' Tyki grumbled, he couldn't hide anything from her; her curiosity was just as dangerous as her temper. Road was still leaning on the back of his chair, purple highlights and molten gold being reflected in the light of the flames.

'What… is this feeling Road? I feel like something's… wrong,' Tyki didn't know why he was opening up to his niece she would likely blackmail him is she knew of his relationship with Elena.

'It's about Elena right?'

'How'd you know?' Tyki was shocked and at the same time pissed off as Road smirked gently at her uncle's shock.

'You were dreaming about her last night…'

'Road!' Tyki hissed with annoyance as he vaguely forgot about Road's abilities as the Noah of Dreams.

'Sorry, Tyki but it was purely by accident,' Road's excuse was anything but accident as he waited patiently for her to continue. He watched her eyes darken despite the light of the fire reflecting in them.

'It moving again and I have a feeling it's after her…'

….

**Author's note:**

**Whoops… another short chapter but I have to be careful not to reveal too much in one chapter alone. You'll have to bear with me…**

**Please send in reviews because I really, really like reading them and they'll help heaps…**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen:

~Elena~

Elena was surprised with how easily Sachiko could keep up with her with the stiff kimono and strange clogs that were sported on her feet. But Elena wasn't going to focus on that for too long, someone or something was following her as they leapt across the rooftops of the town they had arrived in.

The wind ruffled through her loose hair she hadn't been bothered to tie up and the chill in the air was making her shiver in her thin dress shirt.

Thanks to Elena directions, she had no idea where they were or where they were going but at the moment she only worried about losing whatever was following. She made a quick glance at Sachiko; the akuma's face was fixed into a face with a mixture of determination and dread.

'Where are we going?' Sachiko seemed to openly complain as Elena rolled her eyes and wondered what thought had made her drag Sachiko along with her.

'I'm the last person to ask that,' Elena muttered her reply as Sachiko frowned at her as if she hadn't heard properly before Elena skidded to a halt on the outskirts of the town. The forest before them yawned around them as she regained her breath. Beside her, Sachiko seemed to have no problem keeping up because her breathing was steady and even as if she hadn't been running at all.

'Are you alright?'

'I'm fine,' Elena hadn't meant to snap as the akuma backed away nervously before Elena gathered in a deep breath and sighed.

'I'm fine, Sachiko but we need to go further,' Elena said again with a little more convincingly as she darted off amongst the trees with the akuma following close behind. The forest was dense and made it easier for anyone to hide and ambush them as Elena tried to stay away from the thickest parts of the shrubbery. Sachiko trailed beside her, matching her speed and movements quite well, especially for a level two akuma Elena added silently.

Suddenly Elena felt the presence loom ever closer to them till she actually thought that they were breathing down the back of her neck.

'Get down,' Elena shouted as she flung herself at the startled akuma and they tumbled into the thickets. Sachiko sat up and grizzled when she saw the state of her kimono and took the courage to glare at Elena.

'Shh!' Elena hushed as she glanced out of the thickets, it was a ridiculous place to hide, she knew this but she knew they had to change direction. Soon enough something blurred passed their current position before Elena was sure that they were a good distance away.

'Come on,' Elena hissed in a low voice as Sachiko stood up quickly and followed Elena down a well-worn path that she had just spotted when they fell. The akuma gave her a smug look.

'You don't know where we're going,'

'Never have,' Elena retorted dryly as they arrived at the bank of a large lake. Elena leaned on her knees, her chest was tight as she struggled to get air into them and relax the cramps in her legs and stomach.

The lake was still and reflected the moon's eerie light perfectly as if the lake itself was the sky. The forest was no longer rustling in the breeze as everything remained as it were, still and untouched by anything. It had gotten too quiet for Elena's liking as she slowly walked along the bank and took in her surroundings.

'Noah-sama!' that caught Elena off guard as she was roughly shoved in the back just as something rocketed passed her and hit Sachiko instead. Reeling from her shock, Elena gazed at the slumped figure of Sachiko, she was all right yet unconscious as she spun around to see who had attacked them.

Elena couldn't help but shudder as a man stepped out of the shadows of the trees. His face showed not a single sign of remorse for his actions but Elena began to doubt if the person was even human. She had felt this particular presence before, a long time ago as she stood up and glared at the man.

'I presume 'long time no see' is irrelevant,' the man said pushing the frame of his glasses up the ridge of his nose as Elena eyed him with hate.

'Naturally,'

'And to think you would go as far as hide yourself in the one place I had the most dominance in, you really like taking risks… Fourteenth,' Elena didn't flinch or glare like she had done to Cross when he had mention that other name of hers, the one she had kept hidden from everyone around her, even Tyki.

'I see no fun in follow taboos, Apocryphos,' Elena said poking her tongue out a little as the man frowned at her. He didn't seem amused by her antics that clearly began to show with each word she spoke.

'You may have changed since the last I saw you, thirty years ago, but you're still as childish as ever,' the man she called Apocryphos said as he stepped closer to her. Elena didn't flinch but that didn't mean she wasn't cautious, it was unpredictable and that was what she hated most about it.

'I have little complaint about it, my memory doesn't have a specific gender like the others,' Elena retorted folding her arms over her chest but the man chuckled before he came at her with incredible speeds. She wasn't prepared for that as she narrowly avoided the attack that sent a pulse of air splitting the lake's water cleaning in half before violently colliding and merging once more.

Elena gritted her teeth as Apocryphos twisted and turned as she made every effort to block and dodge its attacks. She could see the murderous intent in its eyes that was the only obvious sign of emotion that could be traced in its eyes before it smirked at her.

'You seemed to have sealed your powers…' with that Apocryphos sent out an attack that Elena wasn't prepared for as she did her best to block it but it engulfed her whole entire body acting like some sort of bubble.

Elena winced as pain spread through her body like wild fire as the attack dispersed and she collapsed onto the ground. She coughed and spat blood onto the sand before gazing up at Apocryphos posing as a holy man.

She couldn't move, her entire body was screaming in pain and agony as she did her best to stand up despite her legs protesting. Apocryphos didn't seem phased by the girl's attempts to stand as it slowly crossed the distance between them and closed its hand around her slender neck.

Elena choked as she was wrenched from the ground; she wanted to defend herself but in her current state that was clearly impossible as Apocryphos drew his face close to hers.

'Thirty years I've waited and now here you are as weak as anything, where's that dear 'family' of yours to save you?' Its taunting voice breathed over Elena's face as she struggled in its grip but the fingers were tightly clasping her throat and forever closing on her airways. Apocryphos chuckled as Elena gagged through the pain.

'No matter, I'll enjoy tearing that memory of yours apart,' Elena froze as the Apocryphos traced its finger over the scar running over her left eye. It was slowly and sadistic as she felt it run all the way up to the pentagram that scarred her forehead.

'I'll start with this…'

….

_~Tyki~_

Tyki had run out of the Ark as soon as those words left his niece's mouth. Why was the Apocryphos after Elena? She was an exorcist after all… right? He shook his head of those thoughts as he arrived at the outskirts of a town.

A forest stood before him like a looming shadow as a piercing scream shriek from within it. The scream was enough to make Tyki's blood run cold; he had never heard a sound that terrifying but that wasn't exactly it, it sounded like Elena.

He dashed through the trees and shrubbery till he arrived at the banks of a lake but the beauty of the place was dashed as he stared at a man the stood over a slender figure. His hand was firmly fixed around the person's neck as they lay kneeling on their knees red blood pouring from the left side of their face.

Tyki flared up in rage as he lunged forward, gather a mass of dark matter into the palm of his hand and slamming it into the side of the surprised attacker. The man was caught up in surprise that he let go of the girl and crashed into the lake. Calming down, Tyki supported the limp figure in his arms as they began to stir.

'Tyki…?'

'Elena what the fuck's going on here?' He couldn't be bothered with his normal formal tone as he gazed into the face of the one he loved. Blood was soaking into his right hand as he tried to examine the wound but because of the blood, he couldn't exactly tell if it was deep or not.

'You shouldn't have shown up, it'll kill you too… don't bring more pain to the Earl than necessary,' Elena was stumbling over her words but her glittering silver eye stared at him with a type of pleading.

'Don't ever say that, shojo…' Tyki hissed at her as he steadied her on her feet before a fit of coughing broke into their small moment together. They gazed at the man who was clambering up out of the water; his clothes were soaked through while his fingers rubbed against the bridge of his nose seemingly trying to adjust the glasses that clearly weren't there.

'Bloody hell, you Noah always seem to show up when I least want to see you,' the man grunted with dissatisfaction when he finally reached the banks of the lake. He stared at the two with distain in his eyes.

What struck Tyki odd was that his Noah was shuddering with excitement at this new opponent that threatened the one his loved. He pushed Elena behind him much to her protest as the man chuckled at his reaction.

'Let me guess, you two seem quite intimate with each other, how very amusing indeed,' the man said stepping closer to them.

'Who is he Elena?'

'That's Apocryphos,' Elena whispered in a low voice the blood was beginning to clot and darken as it dried on her pale skin. Tyki's eyes widened as he stared at the man before smirking.

'So that's why I feel like tearing the bastard apart,' Tyki growled before grabbing Elena quickly and jumping several places back as Apocryphos attacked them without warning. Tyki landed lightly on the ground as not to bring any discomfort to Elena's already battered body and placed her gently on the ground.

'Well, I'd say this is very convenient, 'killing two birds with one stone' is how the humans put it,' Apocryphos said to no one in particular as it lunged towards them again determined to hit them this time.

….

_~Someone's POV~_

I stumbled along the hall; my head was killing me after I had woken up on the floor in Elena's empty room. She must have made a run for it after I had said that stuff about the Noah to her.

Her change of attitude surprised me along with the attack that had led to my blackout. Those movements were simple and I felt completely stupid for not seeing the attack before it had occurred but right now that wasn't important.

I used the wall as support before bursting into Komui's office where the head supervisor was talking to two exorcists I easily recognized as Yuu Kanda and Lenalee Lee. Lenalee was the first to react about my condition as she stood up from the couch and bolted over to me, lending her shoulder. In a normal situation, I wouldn't have accepted it but I was grateful for the help.

'Link, what's wrong? Where's Elena?' Komui said as he clearly saw that Elena was nowhere near me that would obviously make anyone worried. I grunted at his shouts as Lenalee eased me onto the couch next to the sour headed samurai.

'She knocked me out and ran off,' I said as Komui seemed to freeze at my words though I heard Kanda chuckle darkly beside me.

'You let a beansprout overpower you?' he seemed rather amused by the whole situation as I glared at him the best I could through the pain throbbing in my head.

'Shut up this is serious, I request an immediate search and retrieval party for Elena Walker,' Komui seemed to stand up immediately at my words, his brows creased deeply on his usually cheerful face.

'Are you sure she isn't just hiding from you, Link?'

'Positive, it was right after our… conversation…' I didn't know how to put it… confrontation would have worked just as well but I still wasn't allowed to reveal Inspector Rouvelier's suspicions without his permission.

'It's alright Link, you may speak about what we have gather about their… 'Friend',' everyone in the room turned towards the door as Inspector Rouvelier entered the room followed closely by a grumbling General Cross.

'What's the meaning of this?' Komui demanded as he glared at the Inspector with cold eyes.

'The exorcist, Elena Walker, has been suspected of being in league with the Noah,' Rouvelier said, I could hear the gasps of disbelief echo throughout the room, even Kanda was surprised by the news.

'What proof do you fucking have, you bastard?' Unfortunately Kanda wasn't the polite type as he let loose an array of foul words directed specifically at the Inspector. I glared at him but he clearly ignored me as Rouvelier smirked at the samurai's murderous look. Unlike the rest of us he seemed used to these kinds of responses from people.

'Enough for her to be tried for treason… you can back me up, can't you Cross?' General Cross just grunted at the Inspector's accusation as Lenalee buried her face into Kanda's shoulder much to Komui's annoyance.

'It can't be helped then…'

'Brother!'

'Lenalee and Kanda, you both will find Elena and bring her back to headquarters. You must try to avoid confrontation from the enemy while doing so, now go,' I watched Lenalee's bottom lip tremble before she rushed out of the room with a silent Kanda following close behind. As he left, he slammed the door as hard as if could, the door splintered around the handle.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena tried pursuing him from getting caught by the Apocryphos' taunt but nothing would reach the ears of Tyki as he lunged towards the being that she had been hiding from for so longer.

'Tyki it's suicide, don't,' but her words fell on deaf ears as the two clash in a loud explosion pulsating through the air sending her staggering onto the ground from the shockwave. Elena watched helplessly as the two collided against each other, the Apocryphos always seemed to be gaining the upper hand on Tyki.

A soft murmur rippled beside her as Elena glanced down and saw Sachiko regain consciousness from the first attack Apocryphos had launched at them.

'Ouch, what's going…?' she didn't need to finish as the air shrieked with the sound of clashing forces that both of them covered their ears desperately to soften the blow. Sachiko saw Tyki and then the strange humanoid shape of the Apocryphos' true form as they battled against each other.

'Sachiko, you have to run, get away from here,' Elena said hurriedly at the akuma who just blinked at her.

'I may be altered but I'm not stupid if Noah-sama won't leave neither will I,' Sachiko said in defiance but that just made Elena angry, why couldn't it see the situation that they were in the middle of?

'But you'll die if you remain here,' Elena protested but she froze as she saw the mock amusement in the akuma's eyes.

'It doesn't matter, I was created to serve and die fighting, I'd rather that than die running,' Sachiko's words struck Elena like lightning, she never did like running, she absolutely hated it. Elena stared across the clearly, Tyki seemed to be sporting several deep wounds while Apocryphos seemed to be the same as the start of the battle.

'Keep moving forward… I'm such an idiot,' Elena said as she felt hot tears spring from her eyes as she squeezed her left hand tightly. She slowly stood up ignoring the pain that still throbbed in her body.

'I'm not that lonely crying child anymore, waiting for others to help… I've got my own path to follow, who gives a fucking shit what other's think,' Elena said as she felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Her left arm felt lighter, something solid in the palm of her hand as she let it drop onto the sand.

'Sachiko, do you think you could provide a distraction?' Elena said as her pale skin darkened to an umber tone. Sachiko snickered beside her.

'I'll see what I can do… Noah-sama,'

….

**Author's Note:**

**Oooh, Elena's getting serious… but what does that mean? I like asking questions even though I'm the one writing this but hey like I said, the plot to this story changes the more I think about it…**

**Talking about questions… please send reviews and questions to me about anything you want to know or want to improve… Cheers!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen:

_~Tyki~_

The bastard was seriously strong he had to admit, he was staring across from Apocryphos looking as if it had just entered the battle with hardly anything but a few scratches. It was definitely on a completely different level to the other innocence but it was clearly not the Heart.

Tyki grizzled as he took a moment to take in some much need oxygen into his lungs. He could feel the blood oozing from his wounds etched deeply into his skin but that didn't bother him as much as the substance itself. The entire thing was that hateful innocence that his wounds felt like they were constantly on fire.

'What's wrong Noah? Can't hold your own in battle,' the Apocryphos was trying to taunt him into doing something foolish and Tyki learnt from his earlier mistakes about what would happen if he had went into a fit of rage again.

'Nah, not yet, just getting a breather,' Tyki said as he suddenly dashed forward brandishing sharp looking blades as he began to attack Apocryphos with all he got. But he was still confused even while fighting it; Elena seemed to be fully aware of its presence despite the Earl saying that not many people were aware if its existence. However this thought distracted him and Tyki narrowly avoided a blow to the head as he ducked before attacking Apocryphos' exposed side.

Apocryphos hissed with pain as he knocked Tyki away before the Noah could do anymore damage to it. A wicked looking cut was carved where Tyki and slashed at it but watched in disbelief as it slowly closed up.

'Regeneration ability, you fucking son of a bitch,' Tyki muttered with annoyance, he was not at all amused by the situation that he had gotten himself into.

'Once a devil, always a devil,' The Apocryphos retorted back as it came upon him once again. Tyki braced himself as he knocked one block away and spun on his foot to gain access to a blind spot Apocryphos had opened up. Unfortunately Apocryphos read his movements and thwacked down towards Tyki's shoulder. Tyki dodged but still felt the attack graze his shoulder as he stepped away leaving a great distance between the both of them.

For a moment, Tyki glanced at where Elena was but was surprise to see that she was no longer there.

'You should really be focusing on what's in front of you,' Tyki turned to see Apocryphos staring right into his face. Tyki wheeled back in shock but reacted too late when the Apocryphos pierced through his left shoulder. He gritted his teeth as he swiped out at it just as it retreated.

'Tyki!' a voice cried out, as Tyki collapsed from the pain spreading like wild fire from the hole in his shoulder.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena rushed forward catching Tyki's body before it hit the ground; the wound in his left shoulder concerned her beyond what she had wanted to feel. The wound was deep but that wasn't what was worrying her most, the attack was innocence-based and it was going to have massive damage upon Tyki's mental state as well as physical.

Apocryphos stood before her as she laid Tyki gently on the ground and stood up facing the one thing she had been running from.

'So you weren't going to abandon him, you really do surprise me Fourteenth,' Apocryphos sneered at her as she stared without blinking.

'Your nothing but duty, Apocryphos, I doubt you'll ever get it,' Elena snarled back as she stepped closer. Both eyes glaring at her opponent who seemed to have realized a startling change about the girl.

'But I shredded that eye of yours…' it didn't like how its surprise was so evident in its voice as it growled at her. Elena didn't say anything as she launched herself forward her feet digging into the sand of the bank. Apocryphos stepped back bracing itself for impact but Elena swept her foot in an arch, kicking up sand and temporarily blind it.

While Apocryphos tried to contemplate what has happening his unleashed a punch that Elena swiftly dodged and slid closer to it before slamming her elbow right into its gut.

Apocryphos staggered away form her gasping in at the pain that rippled into his abdomen but Elena gave him no chance to recover as she gripped it under the chin and flung it into the water once again. The water gave way with a great splash as she heaved at the massive effort it took for her to pull that off.

Elena gritted her teeth, she knew it still wasn't enough to keep the darn thing down as she saw it burst from the depth of the water and attacked her again. Elena flipped back feeling the hands sink into the sand as she did so. The innocence's attack sprayed sand everywhere to the point Elena wasn't sure where it was going to attack.

Well it did attack, but from behind her, sending her sprawling into the sand several metres away. Elena quickly recovered and dodged an incoming blow just in time.

'Stay still,' it hissed as Elena continued to dodge desperately each and every one of its attacks. When Apocryphos attacked again, she crouched down towards the ground and swept her leg across, knocking the innocence off its feet.

Apocryphos landed heavily on the ground as Elena jumped back quickly to avoid its hand trying to grab her ankle as it quickly got to its feet.

'You're really starting to piss me off now,' Elena rolled her eyes at it as she moved into a defensive stance for any surprise attack that might come her way.

'… But are you forgetting something?'

Elena blinked as she caught Apocryphos' eye flicker over to the unconscious Tyki lying on the ground. She felt herself rage like a forest fire in summer's heat.

'Don't even think about it, you creep,' Elena shouted at it as she changed her stance and lunged at it, which it was hoping for as it caught Elena off guard and slammed its knee into her stomach causing her to lurch over and gasp in pain. A blow to her side sent her rolling towards the waters edge.

Elena shivered as she felt the water begin to soak into her clothes as she stood up, ignoring the pain and blood trailing from the corner of her mouth. Apocryphos was stalking towards her as she wiped the blood off her chin and spat the rest out into the sand.

'Temper, temper… it really can be used against humans so easily, that's why you'll lose, you'll lose everything you hold dear,' Elena knew it was wanting her to attack blindly so that it could take advantage of her but she couldn't help it as her judgment was overtaken by her emotions.

….

~Someone's POV~

Kanda and I raced across the cobblestone streets, the sounds of fighting emanated from the forest to our position edging towards the outskirts of town. Kanda's stare was a blank and emotionless as ever making it almost impossible to read what he was thinking. I sighed heavily as my cheeks felt the streaks of dried tears that I hadn't bothered to wipe away.

'Where are you Elena?' I whispered to the violent night air filled with explosions and horrible snapping noises. Something wasn't right and I knew that clearly, as we soon entered the forest. We quickly followed the noise but I felt my foot trip over something as I suddenly fell over and faced planted in the soft earth. I could have sworn that I heard someone chuckle as I glared back at Kanda who just frowned in response.

'That was not me,' he grumbled in defense.

'You shouldn't go any further if you value your lives,' a voice said to us as we both glanced into the treetops and saw a strange figure sitting with their back to us. Kanda was quick to react as I realized that the figure was in fact a yellow akuma with some sort of fish head.

Another loud explosion echoed towards us from the clearing as I glanced up at the akuma with a frown.

'Why should we listen to you?'

'You came for Elena Walker, right? Sorry to disappoint you but something got to her first…'

'Creatures from the Netherworld, Ichigen!' Kanda sent out his attack as worm like creatures suddenly attacked the petrified akuma who literally fell off the branch.

'Are you an idiot, Kanda? It's me, Sachiko you asshole,' the akuma screeched at us as I blinked in confusion. Kanda wasn't easily convinced as I stood there wondering what the heck was going on.

'Sachiko? What's going on? Why are you here?' I managed to ask holding Kanda's arm so he wouldn't do anything stupid like attack the akuma that called itself the same as Cross' altered akuma.

'Elena asked me to stay back here, she knew you were coming so she asked me to warn you from going on ahead,' Sachiko seemed quite serious when she said this but I just frowned and tried to barge past it but the akuma stood in my way clearly much stronger than I was without using my innocence.

'If it's the Noah then we can help,' I said defiantly but Sachiko shook her head hopelessly.

'Innocence is useless against it,'

'Against what, exactly?' Kanda said holding mugen in front of him threatening to slash its throat if it was lying.

'Don't believe me, well then let me show you a great view… from up there,' with that the akuma zoomed into the treetops. I glanced at Kanda who just grumbled and sheathed his katana before following the akuma like I was. When we reached the part of the tree where it gave us a clear view of the lake and of two figures battling against each other.

I couldn't recognize either one of them as the two clashed but what I was certain was that one of them did not look human. It was pastel white all over and its skin was flaky from what I could make out from my position.

'What is that?' I whispered aloud by accident as Sachiko heaved a heavy sigh beside me.

'That is known as Apocryphos, a sentiment innocence according to Elena,' Sachiko said as I blinked at it as it continued to stare down at the fighting.

'Wait, Elena knew about it?' my words stumbled as I said this. The akuma stared at me and nodded.

'Yeah, Cross-sama was also aware of it to because of Elena, that's why he stays away from headquarters most of the time, sometimes the worst monsters are those within,'

Sachiko finished her explanation with something that sounded as if someone else had said it.

'Then the person who's fighting it is…' Kanda spoke up much to my surprise.

'Yep that's Elena but she can't hold her ground for long,'

….

_~Tyki~_

His body hurt all over, but the pounding wasn't all in his head. It was happening around him he could barely register what or who was making all the noise.

Tyki heard a shriek of pain as he forced himself to open his eyes that threatened to roll back into his head. He knew it was Elena; she must be fighting with that bastard that pierced his shoulder. Fuck did that kill…

He curled his fingers feeling the sand gather and spill from his hand, he hated lying here while Elena was throwing her life away protecting him. No… he wasn't going to let Apocryphos take away the one thing he had cared about besides his family.

No one…

….

**Author's Note:**

**Suspense, suspense ~singing~**

**I was on a roll here and I'm quite happy with it to be honest…**

**What's going to happen to Tyki? Will Elena survive? You'll have to wait for the next chapter…**

**Please continue your reviews because I gladly enjoy reading them. **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty:

_~Elena~_

Pain rippled through her arm as she stumbled back away from Apocryphos who was snarling evilly. Elena knew she had lost it before, she had once again let her emotions control her actions and she was paying for it dearly. Apocryphos came upon her and threw her back as she tumbled painfully into the sand.

Elena gasped in shock as she tried to maintain a balanced defense but her body was too badly beaten that she could only manage to avoid at least one or two of its blows. She hated to admit it but she was in deep shit right now as memories from her previous fight flooded into her mind.

It was just like that time when Apocryphos had ambushed her thirty years ago. At that time she was living as a young man named Neah Walker thanks to the Noah memories she possessed. She gritted her teeth, she didn't want it to end the way it did all those years ago where she had to sacrifice the knowledge of her existence from her family and disappear just to keep her Memory intact.

'Ah, I remember this scene,' Apocryphos seemed to be having a similar reenactment as she was. Its eyes gleaming like fire against ice, Elena couldn't help but shudder as she attempted to stand up but Apocryphos kicked her in the side causing her to collapse into the sand.

'This was where you clearly got away from me despite being within my grasp,' its voice was hollow but sadistic as Elena felt its hand grip her throat once again her mind awash with déjà vu. Elena gritted her teeth as she stared up at its face her strength leaving her limps as they helplessly dangled by her side.

'Bastard,'

'Hmm, what was that? It was always going to end like this, by my hand your pitiful existence with cease…' it never got to finish as a fist slammed right into its face, sending it several metres across the ground. Elena gasped for breath at the tight grip that released her neck as she stared up at the person who had saved her.

Feelings of hatred poured from their tall figure in heavy waves that made Elena feel afraid for a split second if it weren't for the familiar features that adorned its dark complexion. They were dressed in some sort of knightly armor of dark grey and black.

'J-Joido?' Elena whispered Tyki's Noah name as the man vaguely registered her presence, the dark mask covering his eyes glared at the white figure staggering to its feet.

'My God, you still don't know when to quit,' Apocryphos hissed with annoyance as Joido just growled in response as he flew towards Apocryphos like violent winds and the to collided. Elena winced at the explosion as she struggled onto her feet. She didn't want to leave the one she loved to fight especially in this current state as she followed the sparing pair around the shore of the lake before they began to fight it out over the surface of the water.

Elena gritted her teeth angrily as she watched, she had to help, she needed to but that would mean controlling her full power. She clutched her hand over her heart as it skipped a beat. She didn't want to lose Tyki he was her whole life.

Elena had sworn never to love anyone again after the death of her foster father… and older brother in another sense to the faceless death that loomed around them everyday of their lives. But that was until Tyki came along and she learned to love once more despite knowing the consequences for this forbidden relationship, she continued to pursue it nonetheless.

She watched Tyki's Noah form fight mercilessly against Apocryphos, they were almost on par concerning they level of strength but Tyki had just awakened these powers and his mentality was dangerously threatened. Elena stared determinately; she knew what she had to do.

….

_~Somebody's POV~_

I watched patiently at the scene below us, I was right to predict that Elena wouldn't last long against that sentiment innocence but she was giving all she had got. The exorcists beside me seemed more or less bewildered like I was at watching their friend fight something that was not of this world.

'We have to help her,' Lenalee said desperately as both me and Kanda stared at her as if she was an idiot.

'Are you insane? If you go down there, you'll end up like her,' I hissed, trying to persuaded the persistent exorcist otherwise.

'What the fuck are we going to do Lenalee? The fucking akuma said our innocence will not work against it,' Kanda said as I twitched at his reference to me as a 'fucking akuma'. Akuma I maybe but that was no need to say something like that, I saved their sorry asses for all I cared because Elena had asked me to.

'You both don't understand, we can't leave her like this…' Lenalee continued to argue but some growing presence that was I couldn't make clear of distracted me. It was definitely dark matter, and quite a large sum of it that I knew that it belonged to one other person who was presence.

'That's it I'm…'

'Don't!' I grabbed Lenalee's leg before she had a chance to make it off the tree with her activated innocence. Man did those boots sting as she paused when I pointed frantically at the shore where Apocryphos had Elena by the neck.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a dark figure lashed out, sending Apocryphos sprawling on the ground. I knew who it was but the exorcists were flabbergasted as they stared at the fight that was unfolding before them.

'Who the fuck is that?'

'Noah-sama has woken up… it's dangerous here, we need to move from this spot now,' I said quickly as I took to the air, the exorcists frowned at me but didn't say anything else. They had to believe me, everything I had said to them up till now has been true… except for their comrade's true identity that is.

….

_~Elena~_

She held out her hand, her palm facing towards the dark speckled sky as she gathered the energy that had always been on the edge of her mind since she had awakened several years ago.

'Timcampy,' Elena whispered the name as a golden orb appeared and feathery wings and a tail grew from it till a small golem was sitting in her hand. Timcampy screeched with delight at seeing its master after so long as it nuzzled its grinning mouth against her cheek.

Elena was slightly happy that it was here but right now she needed its help and Timcampy could clearly sense that as it hopped onto her hair that slowly darkened to a deep blood red. The transformation she had forbidden for a long time came quickly darkening her skin tone to that of a Noah.

Apocryphos were closing into the shore as Tyki managed to keep as evenly matched as he could against this opponent. Neither noticed the change in Elena as she summoned forth a long chain she had never wanted to use… the chains of destruction.

'Let's go Tim, I'm not holding back,' Elena said leveled tone as she joined the fray much to Apocryphos' surprise. Joido just grunted at her unexplained presence but seemed grateful enough as Elena lashed out at Apocryphos sending it smashing into the shore.

She waited patiently beside Joido as they watched the Apocryphos emerge from the smoke and dust, its eyes filled with irritation as it tried to comprehend what on earth had happened in that split second Elena had joined the battle.

'SO, you finally have the guts to use that darn ability of yours,' Apocryphos snarled as Elena hovered slightly above the water, Timcampy resting in her now red hair and her gold eyes fixed firmly on the enemy that she had been running from for too long.

'Since this will be the last battle between us, I suppose it doesn't matter,' Elena retorted dryly, Joido just chuckled in agreement before they both launched themselves at the Apocryphos. Joido sped to the front and aimed a powerful blow at its head; the innocence stopped it with its fist and tried to aim a blow at Joido exposed abdomen.

Elena then attacked wrapping her chains around Apocryphos and wrenching it back suddenly before it had a chance to realize why it couldn't hit the transformed Noah. Apocryphos slammed into a few trees feeling slightly dazed by the attack but not defeated as it suddenly lashed out like a cornered animal. It struck Joido on the side and tried to land a blow on Elena but Elena moved her chains and formed a quick shield against its attack.

Joido recovered by this time and flung himself at Apocryphos who hissed with annoyance and blasted Joido with an orb of innocence energy. Elena rushed forward gripping Joido by the shoulders.

'Timcampy get us back,' Elena shouted as her golem obeyed and teleported them quickly away from the attack sent by Apocryphos. Joido seemed to be startled by the sudden contact from Elena but she heard him grunt a thank you before Apocryphos came at them. It was quickly learning to take both of them on now as it managed to weave around and avoid both Elena and Joido's attacks simultaneously.

Both sides seemed desperate to end this as each blow slowly became careless and random as Elena finally saw and opening in the Apocryphos' defense. She struck quickly and mercilessly as her chain pierced straight threw its chest. Apocryphos stumbled back shocked and confused as it wrenched the chain from its chest and glared at Elena with something close to insanity.

'You… cannot… defeat me…' Apocryphos shouted as it raised its hands above its head and summoned forth a large quantity of energy that made both Elena and Joido shudder at the intensity. The energy grew larger and larger as Elena unconsciously entwined her fingers in Joido's.

The Noah didn't seemed to mind as they concentrated their powers together like the time back at the Firth of Clyde battling against that inhuman thing that was created by innocence. Their energy mingled in synch just like before as Elena braced herself for the impacted. But unlike thirty years ago… she wasn't afraid of the outcome, Tyki was beside her as both forces clashed in an indefinite explosion that light up the entire area as if it were suddenly day.

….

**Author's Note: **

**Sorry everyone but this is another cliffhanger… I can't go giving everything away in one chapter so please understand.**

**Oh and before I forget, please send reviews and questions, I'll gladly read and answer them when they come…**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One:

_~Elena~_

Elena was knocked off her feet when dark matter and innocence clashed in a huge explosion that enveloped almost the entire forest. The light finally died down and she found herself lying in the sand on the edge of a large crater. Rain was falling around them or was it the water that once belonged in the lake they fought beside. She wasn't so sure about that.

Apocryphos seemed to be the only one standing as Elena managed to find Joido leaning close beside her, battered by not nearly as dead as he would have been if she hadn't has come in.

The sentiment innocence seemed as brittle as anything as she struggled to find footing in the muddy soil that made her sink slightly.

'This is impossible… me… a grim reaper of the Noah falling… to none other than my prey,' Apocryphos' voice was weak and cracked as Elena stared at it with all the strength that was left in her limbs.

'That's where you're wrong Apocryphos, dark matter and innocence a bipolar opposites, they can inflict the same amount of damage as the other,' Elena said starkly as the Apocryphos stared at her, anger racing deep within its eyes.

'Count yourself lucky Fourteenth, another will come along and grant you the most painful death that you can imagine,'

'I'll try my chances,' Elena retorted before the innocence burst into millions of shimmering dust that melted away into the mud at the centre of the crater. She heaved a sigh of relief as she clambered out of the crater with Joido close behind but then she noticed him suddenly rush forward and disappear into the forest without another word.

Elena froze as she took in the senses that filled the forest, she could sense two innocence nearby and froze… this wasn't good.

….

_~Someone's POV~_

A blinding light exploded towards us Kanda and I braced ourselves along with Sachiko who was right in moving further away from the lake. I was knocked off my feet before a felt a warm pair of arms wrap around me as we both landed heavily on the ground.

'Kanda!' The usually stoic samurai shocked me as he grunted in pain before I got out of his embrace quickly. Sachiko wasn't as lucky as I was and landed roughly into a tree and slid down into the shrubbery.

'That was powerful,' Sachiko exclaimed aloud standing quickly on its feet and scanning around them as the light died down.

'What the fuck was that?' Kanda hissed with annoyance at the akuma who just struggled to come up with a logical explanation of this.

'Kanda just leave it alone, it's in the dark as much as we are,' I defended it as I made my way towards the lake.

'Lenalee get down!' I ducked instinctively as Kanda shouted that out as he came up behind me sword drawn. I heard it clash against something as I glanced up and saw a tall dark figure grinning maliciously at us as it prepared to fire at us with an orb of dark matter.

'Joido, that's enough, stop it!' a voice called as a pair of hands shot out of the darkness and firmly grabbed the man's arm before he could fire at us. The newcomer was female, her skin was an umber complex and seven stigmata tracing over her forehead. These features along with molten gold eyes confirmed that she was a Noah but what caught me by surprise was her voice… it sounded familiar.

'Elena?' I whispered as Kanda pulled me away from the Noah his sword raised in a threatening manner as the girl stared sadly at me.

'So you're the reason he ran off, you really shouldn't have followed me Lenalee,' the girl said as I muffled a cry of surprise as the Noah I had never met before used my name.

'Cut the crap, who are you?' Kanda demanded as the girl held a strained smirk on her lips as she tried to stop the dark man from attacking us.

'Will you just sheath you goddamn sword already, Joido won't calm down otherwise,' the girl said through gritted teeth but Kanda snorted in disapproval.

'Not likely till your boyfriend calms down first,' the girl frowned at us before pulling the man's face close to hers and kissed deeply. I felt my cheeks flushed as I watched this, the kiss was deep and passionate and seemed to calm the other Noah down quite well that he literally collapsed onto the ground with her arms firmly wrapped around him. I couldn't help but feel slightly jealous.

'Satisfied, now sheath that sword,' the girl said cradling the man in her arms as his complexion paled and seemed to look human. The girl did the same, her grey skin fading till it became as pale and translucent like pearls; her silver eyes stared at us definitely. Her hair though remained dark and perfectly framed her delicate face.

'Sachiko, take care of Tyki,' the girl said as she stood up and the akuma went to aid the man lying unconscious on the ground. I was still bewildered by the eyes of the girl, it looked very familiar as she took a deep breath and paced towards me in a non-threatening way. Without another word she place something in my hand and moved away.

I glanced down as if felt a slight weight being added to my hand and gasped when I recognized the piece of innocence.

'Take care of it will you, Lenalee, it's the least I can do for it to say thank you for all these years,' the girl seemed rather genuine in her gratitude as I glanced from the innocence to the Noah standing before me.

'What?'

'Let me introduce myself properly this time… I'm Elena, the Noah of Destruction,' I gapped like a fish as I glanced at the girl who used to be my friend, who I had fought beside for the past two years.

'This isn't true… Elena please… no,' I was choking on my own words as she smiled that sweet smile of hers and turned around walking back to Sachiko and Tyki. A golden golem flew around her head as she helped support the unconscious man along with the akuma.

'Oi beansprout!'

'What Bakanda?'

'See you on the battlefield and I'll slice you up as much as I want,' Kanda seemed serious as I stamped my foot at him.

'Kanda!'

'Sure whatever,' Elena snapped back as a light enveloped the three of them and they vanished into the darkness. I glared at Kanda but he just gave me a small smile, something I had never seen before.

'Let her go Lenalee, she's better off going back, she'd be killed if we took her back, besides we got her innocence,' his words seemed very wise as I stared at the samurai with narrow eyes.

'And who are you again?'

'Oh shut up and come on, it's fucking cold out here,' I smiled, that was the Kanda I knew well.

(_Time passes_)

'What are you saying… she got away?' I shuddered behind Kanda as he glared almost as dangerously as Inspector Rouvelier was. General Cross seemed to be enjoying the scene a little too much as he chuckled openly to express this. Brother seemed to be hiding his own amusement of the situation as I glanced down at the innocence in my hand.

'We did manage to retrieve her innocence,' I said as confidently as I could but Rouvelier stared at me and I sank further behind Kanda.

'Oh shut your fucking whining already, it getting bloody annoying,' Kanda grumbled as Rouvelier seemed to straighten his back but his face remained twisted.

'You're mission was to retrieve Elena Walker not her innocence,'

'We win some and we lose some, suck it up Rouvelier, Elena slipped from your fingers,' Cross said aloud as we all turned to him, Rouvelier narrowed his eyes at the General who just laughed louder like he had consumed a fair amount of alcohol before this meeting.

'It can't be helped Inspector, Elena is classified as a Noah now, there's nothing much we can do,' Komui butted in as his voice of authority silenced even a merry Cross and sullen Rouvelier.

I buried my face into the warmth of Kanda's back and sobbed softly into it. Only Kanda heard me but made no move to stop me and I was grateful for that. Next time I see Elena, we would have to be enemies that was how this godforsaken war worked it really couldn't be helped. But still… I mourned the loss of a dear friend.

….

**Author's note:**

**I could say the end here but I really haven't finished yet…**

**Continue reviewing and stuff like that please!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two:

_~Tyki~_

He felt something damp being placed on his forehead as he slowly regained consciousness. He found himself staring at a white ceiling, sunlight streaming through a nearby window. He felt someone close to him as he shifted his head on the pillow and met the silver mercury eyes of its owner. A smile spread across her elegant features as she noticed him waking up.

'How are you feeling Tyki?' her question sounded smug in a way but her eyes were still naturally stern. Tyki grumbled as he sat up slowly nursing the pounding in his head.

'Feels like I smashed my head pretty hard,' Tyki couldn't help but joke as the girl next to him raised her eyebrows before taking the cloth from him.

'I wouldn't blame you, your mental state was unstable for a while,' she said with that gentle smile that was as warm as the sunshine falling onto his bed sheets. Tyki finally looked at the girl properly, her dark red hair reminded him of the colour of blood and it contrasted well against her pale complexion and silver eyes. But her features held familiarity that Tyki was left to wonder who this was.

'Elena?' the girl looked up at the sound of her name as she smiled again.

'Who else would be here?' she said laughing slightly, Tyki joined her despite the pain in his head but she stopped suddenly.

'You don't like it…' she seemed slightly hurt as Tyki grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. He nuzzled his nose to her hair and breathed in the familiar smell of her that was there when her hair was white.

'I always thought you looked beautiful in red besides…' Tyki drew away from her holding his hand under her chin looking deeply into her silver eyes.

'It was your eyes that I fell in love with,' Elena's silver eyes quivered before she snuggled closer to him. Her hands curled over the fabric of the shirt he was wearing.

'Where are we anyway?' Tyki asked as Elena suddenly pulled away and smiled before glancing out the window.

'Somewhere safe, Apocryphos is gone, but the threat that the others won't extract revenge is uncertain,' Elena's voice turned serious but she disappeared once she glanced back at Tyki's frown.

'But right now, we're at a dear friend of mine and don't worry they have no connection with the Order,' Elena added as she leaned closer and twirled her finger around a piece of Tyki's hair. He blinked confusedly at how long it was and tried to remember what had occurred during their battle against Apocryphos.

'Do you remember much?'

'Vaguely but my heads killing me,' Tyki responded as she brushed her hand over his forehead before leaning forward and brushing her lips against his. Tyki greedily welcomed the gesture, entwining his tongue in hers before they were interrupted by a sudden presence by the door.

'Uh… um… I'll come back later,' Tyki and Elena focused on the door as a giddy looking young woman stared at them wearing a pink kimono and a gold golem riding in her hair.

'Don't worry Sachiko,' Elena said quickly as Tyki blinked at the girl and then at Elena. He could sense that the girl before them was an akuma but he was wondering why one was here.

'You better be explaining this Elena,' Tyki said as his love laughed queasily.

'You're right before that… Sachiko what's wrong?' Elena said as she stood up and moved away from Tyki much to his dismay.

'We have visitors…'

'Tyki!' Tyki knew that voice immediately as a girl with spiky purple hair barged passed Elena and Sachiko and literally pounced on Tyki. Tyki grunted painfully as the girl landed on top of her. Another person appeared in the doorway as Tyki blinked and saw his brother Sheril staring at you.

'You really know how to make us worry, little brother,' Tyki grizzled at Sheril's tenderness as Elena and Road chuckled.

'What do you want?' Tyki said as Sheril frowned at him before coming over and hitting Tyki over the head. Tyki winced in pain as Elena frowned at Sheril, wishing he wouldn't do that.

'You had all of us worried, stupid, have you no shame,' that was Road who hit him in the chest while sitting in his lap Tyki wasn't pleased with this but he had no time to voice a complaint as she turned to Elena.

'Talking about 'shame', how dare you wake up and not show yourself, Fourteenth,' Road didn't seem so merciful towards Elena as the former exorcist sat down on a nearby chair. An apologetic look creased her face as she stared at the three pairs of eyes staring at her.

'I'll be outside if you need anything,' Sachiko quickly excused herself as she slipped out of the room filled with tension as Elena took a deep breath.

….

_~Elena~_

Elena had prepared herself for this time when she'd have to clear up the confusion that her family felt.

'Where to start…?'

'The beginning would be nice,' Sheril added helpfully in a smartass way but resulted in getting a punch from Tyki to shut the hell up. Elena nodded gratefully to him as she tried to settle the thoughts in her head.

'The main reason was to hide from Apocryphos, he wants to destroy the Memory I possess… the Memory of Destruction, that's why I hid my awakening by using a piece of innocence I had come across just before I regained my memories from thirty years ago,'

'Why not come back to the family?' Road asked, she seemed just as inquisitive like the other's were.

'Not that I have a grudge or anything but it was me the Apocryphos was after and I really didn't want to threaten you further in anyway,' Elena watched Road jump off Tyki before the girl threw her arms around Elena and gave her a suffocating squeeze.

'You really are an idiot, Fourteenth, family's family, you don't have to protect us and go about this alone,' Road was lecturing her as Elena smirked.

'Still lecturing me as always, Road,' Road pouted at her as the girl playfully slapped her cheek.

'And so I shall! Anyway, that doesn't explain why you were able to wield innocence,' Road said in a low curious tone as Elena finally managed to pry the girl's fingers away.

'It was a deal I made with it, I suppose it's easier to say, beats me what but it worked for the number of years it has. I also had to force Cross to cooperate, which ended with me having to clean up after his fucking debt trail…' Elena added darkly catching the other Noah off guard.

'And then you went to the Order, the last place that Apocryphos would search for you… clever if not stupid if I might add,' Sheril added as Road and Elena stared at him for interrupting. The Noah of Desire quickly apologized before Elena continued.

'Correct, I suppose,' Elena said as she held her left hand up to the light, it was once again human and free of the burden the innocence had made to it when she and it bound together. To be honest she wasn't so sure what the innocence wanted from her but in the end she didn't care, it served its purpose while she needed it.

'And now you have a thing for Tyki,' Road added cheeky as both Elena and Tyki blushed slightly at the girl's suggestion.

'You are still annoying as ever,' Elena grizzled as she saw Tyki's mouth about to form the words she had said and closed it. Road laughed knowingly and wrapped her arms around Elena again but this time a little less tightly.

'Welcome back, Fourteenth,' Elena smiled as she wrapped her hands around the girl in response.

'It's good to be back,'

….

_~Someone's POV~_

The exorcists were all gathered in my office either standing or sitting on the couch waiting for me to confirm what I must to them. Lenalee was sitting on a chair with Kanda standing behind her, I had to annoyingly notice that the two were getting extremely close together but that could wait.

'I'm sure you're fully aware of why you are here?' I said as most of the exorcists in the room shuddered, it wasn't a surprise to me, news in the Black Order spread like wild fire and it wasn't long till everyone was aware of the situation.

'Just get on with it already, Komui,' Cross shouted impatiently as arm thrown over the back of the couch he was slouching on looking as bored as anything. I frowned at him before returning my gaze to everyone in the room.

'Elena Walker is here forth declared a Noah, if you see her you are asked to treat her like you would to any Noah you cross, is that understood?'

'But how was a Noah able to get amongst us in the first place?' That came from a newly recruited exorcist by the name of Choaji, he seemed just as venomous as the Central clowns that were all high and mighty but I made sure that I didn't say that aloud.

'Cross, care to explain that to us?' I was staring back at General Cross who looked up from his boredom with an annoyed look at having been singled out yet again but grunted nonetheless.

'She never specified how she was able to bind to innocence but she did say that she was hiding from someone that wanted to kill her,' I leaned forward as Cross spoke.

'The Earl?'

'Nope, some son of a bitch by the name Apocryphos, she seemed to think that hiding here was the best thing to do, so she sealed her abilities as a Noah and I took her in as an apprentice… big deal,' many of us rolled our eyes at the irresponsible General, he could clearly be like that, never following the rules and made his own.

'So everything she told us about herself was a lie?' that was Lavi, he looked surprisingly hurt because of this despite being Bookman's apprentice.

'Most of it, particularly about her cursed eye, it was able to detect akuma because she couldn't fully seal her Noah powers,' Cross said but then waved his hand before someone could interrupt him with any questions.

'Her foster father, Mana Walker is real as well as turning him into an akuma,' I nodded slowly.

'So in all, she only told us what we wanted to hear?' I couldn't help but asked as Cross stared smugly at me.

'What else, idiot?'

….

**Author's note:**

**THE END… for now, if you would like me to continue… say so in a review and also send some suggestions on what you think should happen next…**

**This will be much appreciated…**

**Thank you **


	23. Author's Note

**Hi, all faithful followers of this story,**

**Got some good news, there will definitely be a sequel called The Lovers' Sin: Ray of Hope… go figure… **

**So it will be separate to this story because of the different plot that it will be following. I'll also be adding other characters to the story mostly because it is starting to get serious now so expect the views of other than Tyki and Elena…**

**Cheers!**


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